| LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



I" 



CAa/>. tSQ- 

SAe// 



rfi UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, > 



AN 

EQUALISATION 



EVERY ITEM 

OF 

SCRIPTURE MONEY, WEIGHT, AND MEASURE, 

WHETHER 

OF LIQUIDS, DRY GOODS, OR OF DISTANCE, 

WITH THE BRITISH; 

IN WHICH THE MONIES ARE CALCULATED AT PAR, AND THE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 

REGULATED AGREEABLY TO THE 

IMPERIAL STANDARD OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



" SEARCH THE SCRIP TURES."— St. John, v. 39. 

DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO THE RIGHT REVEREND THE LORD BISHOP OF LICHFIELD, 

BY 

JOSEPH PALETHORPE. 




HENRY HOOPER, 13, PALL MALL EAST. 
1842. 



PRICE TEN SHILLINGS. 



LONDON : 

Printed by "William Clowes and Sons, 
Stamford Street. 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 



031616 



TO 



THE RIGHT REVEREND THE LORD BISHOP OF LICHFIELD, 

THIS WORK 



IS 



(BY HIS LORDSHIP'S SPECIAL PERMISSION) 
MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 



BY 



HIS LORDSHIP'S MOST OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERYANT, 



JOSEPH PALETHORPE. 



Longton, Staffordshire Potteries, 

November 16, 1841. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Amett, Mr. John, Fenton . 
Arnett, Mr. John, Oxford . 
Aston, J., Esq., Barlastone 

Butler, Lady 

Bath and Wells, Lord Bishop of . 
Brookes, Rev. Joshua, D. D., Gamstone 
Baker, Rev. R., Hilderstone . 
Barker, Miss, 175, Piccadilly, London 
Broade, P. B., Esq., Fenton . 
Batkin, William, Esq., Longton 
Bridgewood, Sampson, Esq., Ditto 
Beardmore, Mr. Sampson, Ditto 
Barker, Mr. John, Ditto 
Britton, Mr. John, Ditto 
Bough, Mr. Thomas, Ditto 
Brough, B. S., Esq., Ditto 
Boughey, Mr. William, Ditto 
Bloore, Mr. Samuel, Hanchurch . 
Brown, Mr. William, Longton 
Burley, Mr. John, Ditto . 
Bourne, Mr. Charles, Ditto 
Boulton, Mr. Joseph, Dilhorne 
Bennison, Mr. Robert, Newcastle 
Booth, Mr. W. W., Hanley . . 
Birks, Mr. Samuel, Longton . 
Bowen, Rev. John, A. M., Hanford 
Bentley, Mr. Ralph, Threapwood Head 
Bull, Mr. James, Longton . 
Bentley, Mr. Thomas, Ditto . 
Bradbury, Mr. William, Ditto 
Blurton, Mr. Thomas, Ditto 
Bell, Mr. William, Ditto 
Canterbury, Lord Archbishop of . 
Chester, Lord Bishop, of . 
Curtis, Rev. J., Blithe Marsh . 
Copeland, Alderman, M. P. 
Carey, John, Esq., Lane End . 
Coyney, W. H., Esq , Weston Coyney 
Clarendon Press Society, Oxford . 
Crisp, Mr., Trentham .... 



Copies. 
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Cook, Mr. James, Brickhousefield 
Cope, Mr Thomas, Fenton 
Charlton, Mr. Matthew, Longton 
Cordon, Dr., Fenton . 
Colclough, Mr. Joseph, Longton 
Carey, Mr. Thomas, Jun., Wetley Rocks 
Chapman, Mr. J. R., Architect, Newcastle 
Clarke, Mr. Henry, Fenton 
Devonshire, His Grace the Duke of . 
Durham, Lord Bishop of . . 
Davenport, Mr. Jonathan, Blurton 

Mr. John, Blurton Waste 

Dunn, Mr. Thomas, Stoke-upon-Trent 
Durnall, Mr. Thomas, Fenton . 
Dale, Robert G., Esq., Longton 
Dutton, Mr. Thomas, Blurton 
Elkin, George, Esq., Spratt Slade 
Ellis, Mr. George, Longton . 
Evans," Mr. William, Ditto 
Ford, Rev. William, M.A., Lane End 
Farraday, S. B., Esq., Fenton. 
Fisher, Mr. Nathan, Bucknall . 
Fletcher, Mr. Joseph, Lane End 
Gloucester, Lord Bishop of 
Glover, James, Esq., Longton . 
Garner, Dr., Stoke 
Green, Thomas, Esq., Fenton . 
Goddard, Thomas, Esq., Longton 
Harrowby, Right Hon. the Earl of 
Hatherton, Right Hon. Lord . 
Heathcote, Richard Edensor, Esq., Longton 
Hassall, Rev. R., A.M., Fox Earth 
Hutchinson, Rev. J., A.M., Blurton 
Harvey, Charles, Esq., Banker, Longton 
Hewitt, Mr. Thomas, Ditto 
Hawley, John, Esq., Ditto 
Hilditch, John, Esq., Ditto 
Hopwood, William, Esq., Ditto 
Hughes, Samuel, Esq., Ditto 
Hammersley, Mr. Samuel, Ditto 



Copies 



Hall 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Copies. 



Henney, Mr. William, Trentham Office 
Hughes, Mr. J. J., Foley .... 
Harp, Mr. John, Ubberley 
Hargreaves, Mr. John, Hanford . 
Hancock, William, Jun., Esq., Fenton 
Hyde and Crewe, Messrs., Newcastle-under 
Hulme, Mr. James, Longton . 
Harvey, W.K., Esq., Gom's Mill 
Jones, Rev. A. M., Lane End . 
Jalland, B. M., Esq., Hull . . 
Jervis, Mr. George, Longton . 
Jenkinson, Mr. J., Attorney, Stafford 
Kingsmill, Rev. J., A.M., Lane EmT 
Kirkham, J., Esq., Hawthorne Cottag 
Kirby, Mr. R. W., Trentham 
Keen, Mr. Thomas, Caverswal 
Lichfield, Lord Bishop of . 
Lincoln, Lord Bishop of . 
Llandaff, Lord Bishop of . 
Lichfield, Right Hon. the Earl of 
Legge, Mr. Isaac, Furnace Bank 

Mr. Samuel, Longton. 

Locket, John, Esq., Ditto 

Thomas, Esq., Ditto 

Legge, Mr. Isaac, Jun., Longton 
M'Dougall, Rev. James A.M., Dillon 
Moore, William, Esq., Banker, Stone 
Mitchell, Mr. George, Furnace Bank 
Mitchieson, Mr. George, Foley Iron Works 
Northumberland, His Grace the Duke of 
Norfolk, His Grace the Duke of . 
Norwich, Lord Bishop of . 
Newbold, Mr. Richard, Longton . 
Nixon, Mr. Daniel, Ditto . 
Oxford, Lord Bishop of ... 
Oliver, Rev. William, A.M., Tittensor 
Portland, His Grace the Duke of . 
Parker, T. H. Esq., Park Hall . . 
Parsons, Rev. D., A.M., Marsden, Wilts 
Peake, Mr. William, Hanchurch . 
Proctor, Mr. George, Copshurst . 

Longton 

Palmer, Mr. John, Ditto .... 



Lyme 



Copies. 



Patron, A, of Literature 
Price, Mr. Farrington, Foley . 
Ripon, Lord Bishop of. 
Ray, Mr. Richard, Longton 
Ridge, Mr. James, Sheffield . 
Rowland, Mr. John, Stoke 
Rose, J. R., Esq., Attorney, Penkhull 
Sutherland, His Grace the Duke of 
Shrewsbury, Right Hon. the Earl of 
Salisbury, Lord Bishop of . 
Smith, Charles, Esq., Park Fields 
Mr. James, Longton . 



Stephenson, Mr. John, Cambridge 
Swinnerton, Mr. John, Macclesfield 
Stirrup, Thomas, Esq., Dilhorne . 
Salt, Mr. Thomas, Fenton Park . 
Savage, Mr. George, Longton 
Sibary, Mr. George, Ditto 
Smith, Mr. John, Cambridge . 
Stanley, Jacob, Esq., Hanford 
Sheppard, Mr. Thomas Duddlestone, 
Sparrow, Robert, Esq., Foley . 
Sheppard, Mr. L. T., Lane End . 

Steele, Ralph, Esq 

Talbot, Right Hon. Earl . . . 
Temple, Rev. A. M., Plumstead . 
Taylor, John Sparrow, Esq., Newcastle 
Taylor, Mr. W. T., Penkhull . . 
Tarns, Mr. John, Longton . 
Turner, Mr. Samuel, Barlastone . 
Vale, Rev. Dr., LL.B., Longton . 
Wedgewood, J. H., Esq., Keel 
Warrilow, William, Esq., Attorney, Longt 
Walker, T. H. Esq., Longton . . 
Woolley, Mr John, Trentham . 
Walker, Mr. J. H., Fenton . . 
Williams, Mr. Thomas, Longton . 
Walker, Mr. Edwin, Ditto . . 
Wardle, Mr. James, Ditto . 
Walklate, Richard, Esq., Adderley Green 

Wise, J. Ayshford, Esq 

York, His Grace the Lord Archbishop of 
Young, George, Esq., Attorney, Longton 



ongton 



16 
12 



on 



♦ 



INDEX. 



Page 

iEras 135 

Apocrypha, Literary History of 76 

Ark, Noah's, of .... . . . . . . . 129 

Ark, Mercy Seat, of the, &c 131 

Babel, Tower of, of the 130 

Bible, Literary History of the 65 

Translations of the 96 

the first Translation of the, by Miles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter, in 1535 . 120 

Christian Fasts and Festivals, when observed and instituted 48 

Chronological Index to Years and Times from Adam to our Saviour .... 45 

Order of the Books of the Old Testament .47 

Prophetical Books 48 

Cities, when built 49 

Coverdale, Bible of, when translated and printed 120 

Eminent and remarkable Persons mentioned in Holy Writ 52 

Fasts and Festivals, of the Christian 48 

— Hebrew 41 

Guide to Reading of the Holy Scriptures with advantage . . . . • . . .64 

Harmony of the Mosaic Law 54 

Hebrew Language, of the 91 

Fasts and Festivals 41 

History of the Bible, Literary 65 

Testament 72 

Apocrypha 76 

Institutions, Sacred 50 

Jerusalem, Temple of 133 

Kingdoms, when founded .49 

Language, Hebrew, of the 91 

Masoretic Note3 42 

Millennium, of the 59 

Monarchies, of the four principal 140 

Mosaic Law, Harmony of the 54 



8 



INDEX. 



Page 

New Testament, Literary History of the 72 

Nineveh, City of 134 

Notes, Masoretic 42 

Offerings, Holy 131 

Ointment, Holy 132 

Pentateuch, of the 131 

translation of, by the seventy-two Elders, at the request of Ptolemy 

Philadelphus, king of Egypt 106 

Sacred Writings, Institutions, &c, of the 50 

Scripture Monies, Weights, and Measures, comparison of, with the British . . .17 

tables of the 39 

Scriptures, Holy, particulars relative to the 65 

Septuagint, of the 87 

States, when founded 49 

Talmud, of the 138 

Targum, of the 143 

Temple of Jerusalem, of the 133 

Testament, New, Literary History of the 72 

Times and Years from Adam to our Saviour, Chronological Table of the ... 45 

Translations of the Bible 96 

New Testament 127 

Apocrypha 105 

Vulgate, of the. ... . . . .87 

Writings, Sacred, of the 50 

Years and Times from Adam to our Saviour, Chronological Table of the ... 45 



PREFACE. 



The study of the Holy Scriptures is the most important, and the most edifying, 
part of our duty ; inasmuch as it prepares the mind to meditate upon the Divine 
love of our heavenly Father towards man, and furnishes an inexhaustible store 
of pious resignation during the severest afflictions, whether of sickness or adver- 
sity ; and informs us how to build our hopes on that Rock of Salvation which 
will continue through the boundless realm of eternity. Happy is he, who, with 
his mind fixed upon another, and a better, world, can bid defiance to those 
temptations which assail the soul ; can look back, with calm composure and 
placid serenity, upon a life well spent ; can cheerfully meet the dread King of 
Terrors ; and, through faith in his merciful Redeemer, prove invincible to the end. 
We are taught by our blessed Saviour " to search the Scriptures," St John 
v. 39, and with the purest affection he invites all to come unto him : " Come unto 
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my 
yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall 
find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light," St. 
Matt. xi. 28, 29, 30. 

At such a time as the present, when the dissemination of the word of God is 
becoming so extended through the world, by the benevolent exertions of this 
highly-favoured nation ; when we see all ranks and denominations of society 
cheerfully coalescing together, and assisting in the diffusion of Holy Light ; when 
we find that through their philanthropic support, seconded by the unwearied zeal 
and indefatigable labours of self-devoted men, the words of truth and heavenly 
assurance are imparting their all-piercing rays of Divine influence over the most 
remote regions of the habitable globe, and the worship of the True God the 
Father, and our blessed Redeemer, is filling the earth as the waters cover the 
sea : — the horrors of Paganism are vanishing ; its temples are crumbling in the 
dust, and all the wild and sanguinary schemes of its votaries are falling into dis- 
repute : infidelity (that stain to man), lately so formidable, shrinks back, ashamed 
and confounded : angels, looking through the crystal portals of the Heavens, 



10 



PREFACE. 



view with, joy the repentance and conversion of those who, having forsaken their 
evil ways, are fleeing from the wrath to come ; and with Hosannas loud proclaim 
the welcome tidings of redemption, through the sacrifice of our blessed Saviour, 
who suffered an ignominious death upon the cross, that all who " search the 
Scriptures" and " come unto the Lord may find him." At such a time as this 
when such important changes are taking place, it is the unbounden duty of every 
Christian to assist in elucidating those matters, generally, which are compre- 
hended but by few, so that correct information may be afforded to all. 

Under these considerations, the following work was begun ; not with a desire 
to gratify idolescent curiosity, but to inform, and to instruct, the eager inquirer 
after knowledge ; to convey to every searching mind that intelligence which may 
be useful, and to give such a particular account of the Monies, Weights and 
Measures mentioned in Holy Writ, agreeably to the Imperial Standard of Great 
Britain, as may prove beneficial to every reader of the Scriptures. 

With regard to Monies, the comparison has been made at 5s. per ounce for 
silver, and sixteen times its value, or 4/. per ounce for gold, those being the 
rates at which they are stated in our Bibles for the Hebrew denominations as 
mentioned in the Old Tes.tament ; but in the New Testament the values of their 
Monies are different, owing to the Romish currency : the differences will appear 
by referring to the following Tables, viz. : — 

Hebrew and Alexandrian. 

Silver. 

£. s. d. 

Talent 341 10 4» 

Manch T V of a Talent .... 6 16 7 ' 2857496 

Shekel v } 6 „ - ditto 2 3-32u29ie 

Bekah i of a Shekel ..... 01 l-eeon^ 

Zuza $ ditto 6-830857S9 

Gera ? V ditto 1 -366071458 

Gold. 

Talent 5464 5 8-59968 

Shekel . 116 S-^esso 

Daric or Dram 1 1 10-3 



Attic. 



According to Mr. 


Brerewood. 








£. 


s. 


d. 


1 Talent of Silver .... 


. . 187 


10 





l Mina 


. . 3 


2 


6 









% 




, 3000 









PREFACE. 



11 



According to Dr. Bernard. 



£. s. d. 

1 Talent of Silver 206 5 

1 Mina 389 

1 Attic Drachma 8| 

Gold Talent 16 times ..... 3300 

Ancient Rome. 

£. s. d. 

1 Talent of Silver, = 72 Libras . . 216 
1 Libra ... 96 Denarii. . 300 

1 Denarius . . 4 Sestertii . 7| 
1 Talent of Gold, being 16 times of 

Silver 3456 



Babylonish. 

According to Mr. Brereivood. 

£. s. d. 

1 Talent of Silver, containing 7000 

Attic Drachms . . ' . . . . 218 15 
Gold Talent, 16 times 3500 

According to Dr. Bernard. 

' # £. s. d. 

1 Talent of Silver 240 12 6 

Gold Talent, 16 times .... 3850 

N.B. — In the Babylonish mode of reckoning they had smaller monies ; but as they do not appertain 
to this work, they are not particularized here. 

Among the Romans, beside the above there were two kinds of Talents ; the 
little and the great Talent : the little was the common Talent, and whenever they 
wrote talentum, they are to be understood of this. It contained sixty Minse or 
Roman Pounds; the Pound, 100 Drachmae or Denarii; it was also estimated at 
twenty-four great Sesterces, which amounted to sixty Pounds Roman. The great 
Talent exceeded the less by one-third, and was equal to 250/. sterling. 

Besides the Talents here enumerated, there were several other Talents in use by 
contemporary nations, a description of which, though not strictly belonging to 
our undertaking, may prove serviceable to many of my readers : — 

£. s. d. £. s. d. 

The Syriac Talent consisted of 15 Attic Minse at 3 2 6 = 46 17 6 



The Ptolemaic .... 20 ditto 62 10 

The Antiochus and Euboean 60 ditto 187 10 

The ^Eginean . . . . 100 ditto 312 10 

The Egyptian and Tyrian . 80 ditto ..... 250 



There was a much more ancient Talent, which Dr. Arbuthnot calls the 

c 2 



12 



PREFACE. 



Homeric Talent (of gold), which seems to have weighed three Darics ; a Daric 
weighing very little more than our guinea. According to this Talent some reckon 
the treasure which King David left to his son Solomon towards building the 
Temple, 1 Chron. xxii. 14, which according to the common computation would 
amount, in gold Talents, to the value of 546,428,583/. 6*. Sd., and of silver to 
341,517,916/. 13*. 4cl. As David reigned in Judea after the siege of Troy, 
those who support this opinion urge, that it is not improbable but that Homer 
and David might have used the same numeral Talent of gold ; and the Talent of 
silver would be proportionate : but the learned who have written upon this sub- 
ject are much divided in opinion as to the actual amount, or value, of the money 
thus left. Mr. Brerewood computes the value to amount to 841,125,000/. ; 
Bishop Cumberland states 461,171,875/. ; and Dr. Prideaux, after having stated 
the Hebrew gold Talent at 7200/., says " This sum is so prodigious, as gives 
reason to think that the Talents whereby this sum is reckoned were another sort 
of Talents of a far less value than the Mosaic Talent ; for what is said to be given 
by David, and contributed by his Princes toward the building of the Temple at 
Jerusalem, if valued by these Talents, exceeded the value of eight hundred mil- 
lions of our money, which was enough wherewith to have built all that Temple 
of solid silver." Now, in this computation, Dr. Prideaux was, in the first instance, 
evidently in error, with respect to the amount : for, taking the gold Talent at 
his own showing to have been worth 7200/., the gold would amount to 720 
millions, and the silver to 450 millions, together one thousand, one hundred, 
and seventy millions sterling, instead of eight hundred millions as in the calcu- 
lation of the reverend Divine. 

Dr. Prideaux's observation in the last sentence of his assertion, " that there 
was enough to have built all that Temple of solid silver" is far, very far, from 
being correct. The wages of " threescore and ten thousand who were bearers 
of burdens ; of fourscore thousand who were hewers in the mountains ; and of 
three thousand and six hundred who were overseers to set the people awork," 
(2 Chron. ii. 18,) would, in the course of seven years, the time the Temple was 
being built, amount to a large sum ; other parts would be expended upon the 
materials and conveyance of them to the Mount Moriah at Jerusalem, and from 
the accounts of the costly and gorgeous decorations, and the expense of preparing 
them, there would be but very little money remaining. So that the hypothesis 
of the reverend Dean appears unfounded, and consequently incorrect. 



PREFACE. 



13 



But to return. Josephus has reduced the Talents of gold and silver one- 
tenth of the amount mentioned in 1 Chron. xxii. 14 ; and, for what we know, he 
may be correct ; as a cypher might probably have been annexed to the ancient 
Hebrew copy, and thus have descended to us, from the error having been 
transcribed by the succeeding amanuenses and translators ; but this may be 
doubted, from the great care bestowed by them in so strictly examining their 
writings, to prevent either the addition, or diminution, of even a single letter, or 
point. 

Some translators think, that the word " kikkar," which is rendered a Talent, 
properly signifies a Mass or Piece, as it is used in 1 Sam. ii. 36 (piece of silver), 
and in Zech. v. 7 (talent of lead) ; and, consequently, may denote a piece of 
a greater, or less, value. It is totally impossible, at this period, to state, with any 
degree of precision, which of the foregoing accounts of the value of the Talent 
may be considered accurate ; but it must be allowed by the most sceptical that the 
sum left by David to Solomon must have been immense. 

For the further illustration of this subject, let us refer to the following synopsis 
of David's victories, the results from which, independent of the sums which he 
■ and his predecessors had taken from the Canaanites, must have been very consi- 
derable, from their long possession of that fertile country, with its advantageous 
position as a commercial nation, from the leaving of that country by Jacob in the 
year a. m. 2299 to the establishment of his seed 470 years afterwards. 

When David fled from Saul 1056 a.m. he took refuge with Maoch, King of 
Gath (i. e. of the Philistines) ; and after sojourning there for a year and four 
months, he, and the six hundred men who went up with him, made an attack upon 
the Geshurites, the Gezrites (or Gerzites), and the Amalekites, and smote the land, 
and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, 
and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish. 
(1 Sam. xxvii. 8 and 9.) Immediately afterwards those of the Amalekites who 
had escaped the slaughter attacked Ziklag in the absence of David, and carried 
away his wives and families and the whole of what they possessed, and burnt the 
city : upon David's return to Ziklag he was informed by an Egyptian, servant to 
an Amalekite, which way the plunderers had gone, whereupon David and four 
hundred of his men pursued them, and fought against them and prevailed, and 
re-took not only his wives and families, but also all the spoil — David recovered 
all ; besides the booty which they had taken from the Philistines, to such a con* 



14 



PREFACE. 



siderable amount as to enable him to send presents to " them that were in 
Bethel, and in South Ramoth, in Jattir, Aroer, Sipmoth, Eshtemoa, Rachel, and 
to them that were in the cities of the Jerah-meelites, in the cities of the Kenites, 
in Hormah, in Chor-ushan, in Athach, in Hebron, and to all the places where 
David and his men were wont to haunt." (1 Sam. xxx. 17 to 31.) The plunder 
obtained by David in these two instances must have realized a large sum in 
money, independent of precious stones, cattle, and other commodities : for the 
Amalekites had previously made an incursion upon the south of the Cherethites, 
and upon the coast which belonged to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb ; and 
were returning home with their spoil when they burnt and plundered Ziklag. 
Also in 2 Sam. iii. 22, the servants of David and Joab came from pursuing a 
troop, and brought in great spoil. In 2 Sam. v. 20 to 25, David again smote 
the Philistines in the valley of Rephaim at Baal-perazim, and " from Geba till 
thou come to Gezar." The 8th chapter of 2nd Samuel relates that David smote 
the Philistines and took Metheg-ammah out of their hands ; and, also, Moab was 
wrested from the Moabites, who became tributaries to David and brought gifts. 
Hadadezer, son of Rehob, King of Zobah, was then subdued, and a thousand 
chariots and seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen was the loss 
sustained by Hadadezer ; and, of the Syrians who came to succour Hadadezer, 
David slew twenty-two thousand men. The shields of gold taken from Hada- 
dezer David took to Jerusalem, and put garrisons in Syria of Damascus ; and the 
Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. From Betah and from 
Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took exceeding much brass. Toi, 
King of Hamath, sent Joram his son to congratulate King David upon his suc- 
cesses against Hadadezer, and he brought with him vessels of gold, and vessels of 
silver, and vessels of brass. All Edom became subject to King David, and he 
placed garrisons in every city thereof. David again defeated the Syrians (2 Sam. 
x. 18 and 19), and he slew the men of seven hundred of their chariots, and forty 
thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of the host, who died there. 
And when all the kings that were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were 
smitten before Israel, they made peace with David and served him. Joab after- 
wards fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon of the royal city, and 
David took the king's crown from off his head; the weight of which was a Talent 
of gold, with the precious stones, and he brought forth the spoil of the city in 
great abundance. (2 Sam. xii. 26 to 31.) 



PREFACE. 15 

The remaining contests in which the armies of King David were engaged, 
which are mentioned in 2 Sam. xxi., were against the Philistines ; but nothing is 
inserted respecting spoil having been taken from them by David's servants : the 
only particulars in the said chapter being respecting the death of the four sons 
who were born to the giant in Gath, who fell by the hand of David, and by the 
hands of his servants. Independent of the great quantities of gold, of silver, and 
of brass taken by King David's armies, we must recollect that after David had 
subdued the land of Edom, he wisely took the advantage of the two seaport towns 
of Eluth and Esiongeber (in 65° 40" E. long., 29° 20" N. lat., or thereabouts, on 
the north coast of the Red Sea), and established from them, to Ophir and 
Tarshish, a very lucrative intercourse by traffic. From the former of these he 
drew immense profit ; and from Solomon having received 450 Talents of gold 
from Ophir in one voyage, amounting to 2,458,923/. 12s. Qd. (2 Chron. viii. 18), 
what might not David have received during the twenty-five years of his life after 
the subduing of Edom, from that place as well as from Tarshish and other coun- 
tries. When all the preceding sources of revenue to King David are taken into 
consideration, as well as the length of time he swayed the sceptre over Israel, and 
the increase of duties, taxes, and imposts upon his extending kingdom, there will 
appear just reason to believe that the computation of David's treasure must be 
made by the Hebrew, or Mosaic Talent, and no other. 

The Measures of Dry Goods and of Liquids are calculated at 34 ■ 659 solid 
inches to a pint (conformably to the Act of Parliament which came into operation 
in May, 1825, for establishing a uniformity of Measures, which directed that the 
pint should be of that dimension), instead of 28 ■ 875 solid inches for Liquids, 
and 33 ■ 6 solid inches for Corn and other dry goods, as mentioned in the tables 
of Weights and Measures in some few only of the Bibles of the present day — no 
notice having been taken of the Act of Parliament by any of the printers of 
Bibles ; and even those old tables here spoken of are incorrect, as an inspection of 
my improved tables will clearly demonstrate. The weights take the weight of' the 
Shekel of the Sanctuary in the Bible, and Troy JVeight in this work, as their 
standard. The measures of distance are computed according to the Mosaic 
Cubit of 21*888 inches, for all measures of length in the Old Testament, with 
the exception of the Cubit of Ezekiel, where, in Ezek. xl. 5, it is particularly 
mentioned as consisting of a cubit and a hand-breadth ; (see also Ezek. xliii. 13,) 
so that that cubit is 25 • 536 inches in length. The Cubits mentioned in the New 



16 PREFACE. 

Testaments are reckoned 21*888 inches. Being desirous of ascertaining cor- 
rectly the length of the Mosaic Cubit, I had an interview with a Jew, who 
informed me " That the Cubit consisted of Six hand-breadths as measured by a 
middle-sized man ;" and as the English yard of thirty-six inches was taken as the 
standard measure of this country, from the length of the arm of Henry I. in the 
year 1101, the Cubit of Six hand-breadths was adopted in these computations. 
The difference, therefore, between the Cubit of Ezekiel and the Mosaic Cubit, is, 
that the former exceeds the latter by 3 ■ 648 inches. 

To enumerate and descant upon the various subjects introduced in this pub- 
lication would take up too much time and space, and prove wearisome to the 
reader. It is my sincere hope that my labours will be found deserving of that 
encouragement which is always held out by a British Public, to those who strive 
for a share of that liberal patronage which so highly distinguishes a discerning- 
community ; and which encouragement has been given to me to an extent, 
transcending, by far, my most sanguine expectations, as my list of Subscribers 
will prove, to whom I most respectfully present my grateful thanks for their 
support. 

Now unto the sacred Spring of all mercies, the original Fountain of endless 
goodness ; who beholds the upright in heart, and reveals his secrets to as many as 
fear him, to the infinite and eternal Being, the immutable Word, whose purpose 
is unalterable, whose power is invincible, whose dominion is without end, and 
whose compassions fail not : to the High and Lofty One, who inhabits Eternity, 
and who dwells in the Light : to the immaculate Lamb who sits on the right 
hand of Omnipotence : to the Holy Spirit emanating from the Father and the 
Son, the Holy Three in One, be Glory, Might, Majesty, Power, and Dominion, 
now and for evermore. Amen. 

Joseph Palethorpe. 



Longton, November 16th, 1841. 



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38 



SCRIPTURE MONIES, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES, 



<N CO 



o o 
c o 



•a O 



o 
o 
o 



GO CO 



o 
o 
o 



o 
o 

CI 



O C~ 

o ^ 

© r- 

00 



C 

o o 



o 



H 

oo 



in 





cb 


o 




r- 




• © 


o - • 
1 — 1 




• O 


05 


in 


1,562 




' © 



,3 ~ 



tn o o 
i-i o o 

CO r-l 



00 

oo 
O 

<1 
W 



oo 
H 
O 



P CO 

o o in 

o 

o 
m 



oo oo 



O 

H 

<J 

P3 



I 1 

v — /.a 

C3 



ft. 



"5 C -ua c to 

s '-S s _sj *s ja 



— o 
O O -F 

co © ^ 



oo in co 

r-H CO 



<M in o oo 

i— I r-H i — Id 



- cq to h co 



hNOI 



-h CM 



CO - *ih -H CO — 

~ I— I r-H r-H CM 



REDUCED TO THE BRITISH IMPERIAL STANDARD. 
A TABLE OF SCRIPTURE MEASURES. 



39 



Measures 


of Length. 






Scripture Itinerary Measures. 






Feet. In. 


Parts. 




Miles. Yrds. Ft. 


In. 


A cubit .... 




1 


9 


888 




1 


9888 


A span .... 


^ cubit 





10 


944 


A stadium or furlong . 


243 


7-= 


A handbreadth 


i ditto 





3 


648 


A sabbath day's journey . 


1216 





A finger .... 


? V ditto 








912 


Eastern mile .... 


1 672 





A fathom .... 


4 ditto 


7 


3 


552 


A parasang .... 


4 256 





EzekiePs reed (See 


6 do. & 


12- 


9 


216 


A day's journey 


33 288 





Ezekiel, ch. xl. ver. 5) 


1 hdbth. 












The measuring line . 


80 cubits 


145 


11 


040 


5 feet — 1 pace; 1,056 paces == 1 mile. 





Liquid Measures. 







As they stand in our Bibles ; 
the old Winchester measure, 
28-875 inches = 1 pint. 


What should have been stated, 
the former being incorrect. 


According to the British 
Imperial Measure: 
34-659 solid inches = 1 pint. 




Parts of an 
Homer. 


Gal. Pints. 


Solid Inches. 


Gal. 


Piuts. Solid Inches. 


Gal. Pints. Sol. In. rem. 


The homer or cor . 




75 5 


7- 6 


75 


5 7-<> 


63 8-839 


The bath . . . 


tV* 


7 4 


15'2 


7 


4 15 - 1. 9 75 


6 2 14-7,4-5 


The hin . . . . 


<rVth 


1 2 


2-5 


1 


2 2 -532 , 9is 


1 14 ,l) 10,916 


The log .... 







24-s 





24 -273,576,375 


24-273,576,375 


The firkin (metretes) 




7 


4 . 9 





7 4-9 


5 33w 



Dry Measures. 



The cab . . . 
The gomer or omer 
The seah 
The ephah . 
The lethech . . 
The homer or cor 



Parts of an 
Homer. 

iTtrtb 
■riuth 
?Vth 
rVth 
l 

2 



Bush. Pecks. Pts. & Sol. In 

2-9 



5-i 
l-i 

3-4 

0- 8 

1- 6 



Bush. Pecks. Pts. & Sol. In. 

2 28-66 



4-548 
3-96 
11-83 

25-s 
18 



33-e sol. in. to a pint. 



Bush. Pecks. Pts. & Sol. In, 

2 26-542 



33-912 
20-616 
27-189 
31-968 

29-2-7 



34-659 sol. in. to a pint. 



Weights. 



A shekel 
A maneh 
A talent 



Shekels. 

60 
3,000 



lb. oz. dwts. gr. and parts. 

9 25,714 235 

2 3 6 10-285.714 

113 10 1 10-285,714 



Gold Money. 



A shekel . 
A talent . 
A daric or dram 



3,000 



1 1 10-3 

Mem. Gold is reckoned at £4 the ounce. 



£. s. d. and Parts. 
1 16 5-l4>286,656 

5,464 5 8-59,968 



40 



SCRIPTURE MONIES, — TABLE OF TIME. 
A TABLE OF SCRIPTURE MEASURES — continued. 



Silver Money. 



A shekel 

A bekah 

A zuza 

A gera 

A man eh or mina 

This should be (see Ezek. ch. 

xlv. ver. 12) . 
A talent 



Harts of the Shekel. 



50 shekels. 
60 

3,000 shekels. 



As stated in the Bibles. 



d. 

1'7 



L. s. 

2 

1 

6 

1 

5 13 10 



341 10 4-3 



As they should have been stated. 



£. 



s. 
2 
1 





3'32,142,916 
1 '60,071,458 

6-83,035,729 
1 '366,071, 458 



5 13 10-071,458 

6 16 7 '2,857,498 
341 10 4'28,748 



Silver is reckoned at 5 s. per ounce. 



Piece of silver (drachm) 
Tribute money (didrachm) 
Piece of silver (stater) 
Pound . . (mina) . 
Penny . . (denarius) . 



Farthing 
Farthing 
Mite 



(assarium) , 
(quadrans) . 



2 drams. 
4 drams. 
100 drams. 



20th Den. 
40th Den. 
80th Den. 



As stated in the Bibles. 



As they should have been stated. 



£. 


i. 


d. 


£. 


s. 


d. 








n 








'4 





1 


H 





1 


3* 





2 


7~ 





2 


7 


3 


4 


7 


3 


4 


7 








n 








71 






qr. 






qr. 








1-5 








1'5 








0-8 








0-1875 








04 








0-09375 



A TABLE OF TIME. 



1. Nisan or Abib I A ' 
( April. 

(April, 

}Mav. 

I May, 

| June. 

June, 

July. 



2. Izar or Zif 

3. Si van 

4. Thammuz 



5. Ab. . . . \ J . Uiy > . 9. Chisleu . 

(August. 

• • • lo^A.- 10. Tebeth 

11. Shebat 

12. Adar 

13. Veadar Intercalary. 



J August, 
\ September. 

n t- ■ -p.r • September, 

7. lisn or Lthamm- ~ \ , 

| October. 

8. Marchesvan or (October, 

Bui. [November. 



j November, 
| December. 
December, 
January, 
j January, 
{February. 
J February, 
1 March. ' 



Days of the Week. 
1st day of the week Sunday 



2nd 
3rd 
4th 
5th 

6 th 

7 th, or Sabbath 



Monday 
Tuesday 
Wednesday 
Thursday 
Friday 
Saturday 



Hours of the Day. 

The day, reckoning from sun- 
rise, and the night from sun- 
set, were each divided into 
12 equal parts, called the 
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, &c. 
hours. 



Watches. 

The 1st watch, from sun-set to 

the 3rd hour of the night. 
The 2nd or middle watch, 

from the 3rd to the 6th. 
The 3rd or cock-crowing, 

from the 6th to the 9th. 
The 4th or morning watch, 

from the 9th hour to sun-rise. 



41 



TABLE OF HEBREW FASTS AND FESTIVALS. 



Hebrew Months. 


Corresponding 
with the Months of 


Sacred 
Year. 


yji Lilt; 

Civil 
Year. 


Season. 


Festivals. 


Abib, or NlSAN. 
Exodus xii. 2. 18 

„ xiii. 4 
Esther iii. 7 . 


March . ."| 
April . . j 


1st . 


7th . 


arvest. 


14. Paschal Lamb killed. 

15. Passover. 

16. First Fruits of Barley Harvest 
presented to the Lord. 

21. Passover ended. 


Izar, or ZlF. 
1 Kings vi. 1 . 


April . . \ 
May . . J 


2nd. 


8th . 






* SlVAN. 

Esther viii. 9 . . 


May . . 1 
June . . J 


3rd. 


9th . 


1 Sh 


6. Pentecost. First fruits of Wheat 
presented to the Lord. 


Thammuz. 


{ June . . 1 
(July . . ] 


4th . 


10th 


>n. Summe 




Ab. 


(July . .) 
\ August . J 


5th . 


11th 




Elul. 
Nehemiah vi. 15 . 


August . \ 
September . ( 


6th. 


12th 


rime. Hot Seasc 


9. Temple taken on this day by 
the Chaldeans, and afterwards 
by the Romans. 


Tisri, or Ethanim. 
1 Kings viii. 2 


September . 1 
October . J 


7th . 


1st . 


1. Feast of Trumpets. 
10. Day of Atonement. 
15. Feast of Tabernacles. 
22. Last day of ditto. 


Marchesvan, or Bul. 
1 Kings vi. 38 . . 


October . 1 
November . J 


8th . 


2nd. 


Seed '. 




Chisleu. 


(November . I 
{December . j 


9th . 


3rd . 


nter. 


25. Feast of the Dedication of the 
Temple. 


Tebeth. 
Esther ii. 16 . 


December . \ 
January . ) 


10th 


4th . 


I % 




Shebat. 
Zechariah i. 7 . 


January . 1 
February . J 


11th 


5th . 


Season 




Adar. 
Esther iii. 7 . 


February . \ 
March . .J 


12th 


6th . 


Cold 


14 and 15. Feast of Purim. 


Ve-adar 
Is added here when 












necessary. 













G 



42 



ON MASORETIC NOTES. 
At the end of all the books in the Hebrew Bible, the ancient Jewish Rabbins affixed certain 
notes which they deemed important to preserve the true numbers of Sections, Chapters, 
Verses, and Letters. These may be introduced for the sake of the curious, at the end of 
each book, under the denomination of Masoretic Notes. 

GENESIS. 

The sum of all the verses in JVWN"D, Bereshith, i. <?., Genesis, is 1534, and the memorial 
sign of this sum is Aleph, N, signifying 1000; "f, final caph, 500; b, lamed, 30; 

and 1, daleth, 4. 

The middle verse \)f the book is the 40th of the 27th chapter. " By thy sword shalt thou 
live." Its greater sections are 12. The symbol of which number is the word i~!T, zeh, this, 
taken from Exod. iii. 15. "And this is my memorial unto all generations"'' Where 
I, zain, stands for 7, and i"T, he, for 5. Its sedarim, or ancient Masoretic chapters, are 43. 
The symbol of which occurs in the word DJ, gam, yea, Gen. xxvii. 33. Yea, and he shall 
be blessed. J } gimel, standing for 3, and Q, mew, for 40. Its pir key, or per akim, or modern 
division of chapters, is 50. The symbol of which is lech, Isa. xxxiii. 2. " O Lord, be 
gracious unto us, we have waited for thee" Where b, lamed, stands for 30, and *], final 
caph, for 20. Its open sections are 43; its shut sections, 48 ; in all, 91. And the number 
of lines in the whole book is 4,395. The number of words 27,713; and the number of 
letters 78,100. 

Thus carefully did this people watch over every part of the sacred law, that no section 
might, be changed, and not even one letter added or omitted. To some this may appear 
trifling ; but others will applaud the pious zeal and industry thus exerted to preserve entire 
the integrity of the law of God. 

EXODUS. 

The sum of all the verses in mDItf n*?Nl, Ve-elleh shemoth, (i. e., Exodus,) is 1,209. 
The symbol of this number is Q 7 ~)N ; aleph, H, signifying 1000 ; resh, "I, 200; and teth, 10, 9. 

The middle verse is the 28th of chap. xxii. " Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the 
ruler of thy people.'' 1 Its parashim, or larger sections, are 11. The symbol of which is 
■•N, ei. Isa. lxvi. 1. " Where is the house that ye will build unto me ?" Its sedarim are 29 ; 
the symbol of which is taken from Psa. xix. 3. niiT, Yechaveh. "Night unto night 
sheweth forth kyiowledge.' 1 '' Its pirkey, ox per akim, or present chapters, are 40; the symbol 
of which is belibo ; taken from Psa. xxxvii. 31. " The law of God is in his heart." 

The open sections are 69 : the shut sections 95 ; total 164. The symbol of which is 
"P^C 1 , yisddeka. "Strengthen thee out of Zion" Psa. ex. 2. In which numerical word 
yod, * stands for 10 ; satnech, V, for 60; tsaddi, 2i, for 70; daleth, 1, for 4; and caph, ~], 
for 20; making together 164. 



ON MASORETIC NOTES. 43 

LEVITICUS. 

The number of verses in tflp'H, Vayikra, (i. e. Leviticus,) is 859. The symbol of which 
is epB, pe, final, % stands for 800 ; nun, 3, for 50 ; and teth, D, for 9. The middle verse 
is the 1 1th of chap. xv. " And he that toucheth the flesh," fyc. Its larger sections are 10 ; the 
memorial symbol of which is taken from Gen. xxx. 11. 6rt-gad,"a troop cometh," in 

which beth, 2, stands for 2; aleph, H, for 1; gimel, J, for 3; and daleth, 1, for 4. Its 
sedarim, or Masoretic sections, are 23. The symbol of which is from Psa. i. 2. n^PP, yehegeh, 
" In thy law shall he meditate day and night." Its perakim, or modern chapters, are 27 ; 
the memorial symbol of which is nTTNl, ve-eyeheh, Gen. xxvi. 3. " And I will be with thee 
and bless thee." The number of its open sections is 52, the shut sections 46, total 98 ; the 
symbol of which is ITS, tsach. Canticles v. 10. "My beloved is white and ruddy" in 
which numerical word X, tsaddi, stands for 90, and il, cheth, for 8. 

NUMBERS. 

The number of verses in "DTI, Va-yedabber, And he spoke, or, as in most of the Hebrew 
Bibles, bemiddar, In the wilderness, i. e., Numbers, is 1,288, of which nSIN is the 

symbol. For aleph, K, stands for 1000 ; resch, 1, for 200 ; phe, 3, for 80 ; and cheth, !7, 
for 8. The middle verse is the 20th of the 17th chapter. "And the mans rod whom I shall 
choose shall blossom.' 1 '' (In our Bibles, this middle verse is the 5th of chap. 1 7.) 

Its larger sections are 10, expressed by the word 112, badad, alone. " The Lord alone 
did lead him," Deut. xxxii. 12 ; in which beth, 2, stands for 2, and daleth, 1, (being 
repeated,) 8—10. Its sedarim, or Masoretic sections, are 32 ; the symbol of which is from 
Psa. xli. 12. 2b, leb, "Create in me a clean heart, OGod;" in which word lamed, b, stands 
for 30, and beth, 2, 2. Its chapters are 36, expressed by the words ^b, loo, Oh! Deut. 
xxxii. 29: ''Oh that they were wise." The number of its open sections is 92; its close or shut 
sections, 66 ; together 158, expressed in the memorial ~\pbfl, chelekeca. " I am thy por- 
tion," in which cheth, FT, stands for 8 ; lamed, b, for 30; koph, p, for 100; and caph, 
for 20. 

Though these kinds of notations may appear trifling to some, yet, to an upright Jew, they 
were of much importance. The very technical words used in such cases put him always in 
mind of something in which the glory of God and the happiness and salvation of his own 
soul consisted. 

DEUTERONOMY. 

The number of verses in DH2"Tn ibii, Elleh ha debareem. "These are the words," in 
the Hebrew Bibles, and in the best Rabbinical Bibles, D' , ")3T "13D, sepher debareem, " The 
book of Debareem" or " The book of the words f i. e., Deuteronomy, is 955. Middle verse, 
10th of chap. xvii. 



y 



44 



ON MASORETIC NOTES. 



Larger sections, 11 ; Smaller sections, 27; Chapters, 34. 

Open sections, 34; Shut sections, 124; total 158. 

Total verses of the Five Books of Moses, 5,845. 

Middle verse of the whole law, verse 8 of 8th chap, of Leviticus. 

Total Open sections, 290 ; Close sections, 379 ; together, 669. 

JUDGES. 

The number of verses in D^lltf, Shophetim, regulators, or directors, from ftBty, Shaphat, 
to direct, order, or judge, i. e., Judges, is 618. The number of Masoretic chapters, 14," 
(in our English Bibles, 21.) Middle verse, 8th of chap. 10. 

RUTH. 

Number of verses, 85. Middle verse, 21st of chap. 2. 

1st and 2nd SAMUEL in One. 

Number of verses, 1,306 ; Sections, 34; Middle verse, 1 Sam. xxviii. 24. 

1st and 2nd KINGS in One. 
Number of verses, 1,534; Sections, 35; Middle verse, 6th of 22nd chap, of 1st Kings. 

1st and 2nd CHRONICLES. 

No Masoretic Notes. 

Ezra and Nehemiah 688 verses, 10 sections ; Middle verse, 32nd of 3rd chap, of Nehemiah. 



Esther . 


. 167 


St 


5 „ 


>) 


7th of 5th chap. 


Job ... 


. 1,070 


>> 






16th of 22nd chap. 


Proverbs . 


. 915 


39 


8 „ 


>> 


18th of 16th chap. 


Ecclesiastes 


. 222 


>> 


4 „ 


» 


10th of 6th chap. 


Isaiah . 


. 1,295 


?> 


26 „ 


3> 


21st of 33rd chap. 


Jeremiah . . 


. 1,365 




31 „ . 


y> 


11th of 28th chap. 


Lamentations . 


. 154 


J> 




>> 


33rd and 34th of 3rd chap. 


Ezekiel 


. 1,273 


>) 


29 „ 


>! 


1st of 26th chap. 






9) 


7 „ 


f> 


30th of 5th chap. 



MASORETIC NOTES OF THE TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS. 



Hosea . 
Joel 

Amos . 
Obadiah 
Jonah . 
Micah . 



197 verses. 
70 „ 

146 „ 
21 „ 
48 „ 

105 „ 



Nahum . 
Habakkuk . 
Zephaniah . 
Haggai 
Zechariah . 
Malachi 



47 verses. 
56 
53 
38 
211 
55 



Total number of verses, 1,050 ; Sections, 21 ; Middle verse, 12th of 12th chap, of Micah. 

NO MASORETIC NOTES OF THE APOCRYPHA. 



45 
A 

CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX 

OF THIS 

YEARS AND TTMES FROM ADAM UNTO CHRIST. 



FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF DIVERS AUTHORS. 





Particulars. 


Total. 




Years. 


Mo. 


Days. 


Years. 


Mo. 


Days. 


From Adam unto Noah s flood ..... 








1656 








Adam's age when he begat Seth . 


130 














Seth's , , , , Enos ..... 


105 














Enos's y y y , Cainan .... 


90 














Cainan's , , , , Mahalaleel .... 


70 














Mahalaleel's , , Jared . . . . 


65 














Jared's , , , , Enoch .... 


162 














Enoch's , , , , Methuselah .... 


65 














Methuselah's , , Eamech .... 


lo 1 













Lamech's , , , , Noah .... 
Noah's, at the coming of the Flood .... 


182 














600 














r rom Noah s flood unto Abraham s departure from Chaldea 








363 





10 


The said flood continued for the space of 


1 





10 








Shem begat Arphaxad after the flood . 

Arphaxad's age when he begat Salah . ... 

Salah's ,, Eber .... 


2 














35 














30 














Eber's , , , , Peleg .... 


34 














Peleg's , , , , Reu .... 
Reu's , , , , Serug .... 


30 














32 














Serug's , , , , Nahor .... 


30 














Nahor's , , , , Terah .... 


29 














Terah's , , , , Abram .... 


70 














Abraham departed from Chaldee at the age of 


70 














From Abraham's departure from Ur in Chaldee unto the depar- 














ture of the Children of Israel from Egypt 








■ 435 








Abraham was in Haran for the space of ... 


5 














Abraham's age when he begat Isaac 100 years, deduct 75 . 


25 














Isaac's , , , , Jacob .... 
Jacob lived to the age of . . 


60 














147 














From the death of Jacob to the birth of Moses 


118 














Moses' age when the Israelites left Egypt 


80 














From the going of the Israelites from Egypt unto the first 














building of Solomon's temple ...... 








505 








Carried over ...... 




2959 





10 



46 



CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX OF THE YEARS 



AND TIMES 





Particulars. 


Total 




Years. 


Mo. Days. 


Years. 


Mo. 


Days. 


Brought over ...... 








2959 





10 


Moses remained in the desert or wilderness 


40 




A 

u 








Joshua and Othniel ruled ...... 


40 


n 
U 


n 
u 








Ehud and Shamgar ruled ...... 


80 














The Israelites oppressed by the Canaanites . . • 


20 














Deborah and Barak ruled ...... 


a n 


o 


o 








Gideon ruled ........ 


40 


o 


o 








Abimelech ruled ....... 


3 


II 


n 
u 








Tola 23 years and Jair 22 years ..... 


45 


n 
u 


n 
u 








Then they were without a captain .... 


18 


o 


o 








J ephthah ruled ....... 


6 


n 
u 


u 








Ibzan ruled ........ 


7 


o 


o 








Elon ruled . . . . . . . 


10 


u 


u 








Auuon juugcu israei ....... 


8 


n 
u 


n 
u 








Samson • . . . . . • . . ; 


20 


n 


n 

V/ 








1-1 li Inn fvO on/i (J ri net 

-ii/ii, juu^c ciiiti x^riesi ....... 


44 


u 


u 








bamuel ana baul ....... 


40 


yj 


A 
V/ 








David. ......... 


40 


n 
u 


n 
u 








Solomon began to build the temple when he had reigned 


4 


V 


n 
u 








from the first bunding of the Temple unto the Captivity of 














Babylon ......... 








419 


6 





Solomon reigned beside the above 4 years 


36 


n 
u 


n 








Rehoboam ........ 


11 


n 
u 


n 
u 








Abijah . . . . . . 


3 


n 
u 


A 

u 








Asa ......... 


41 


n 
u 


A 
\J 








Jehoshaphat ........ 


25 














Jehoram ........ 


8 














Ahaziah ........ 


1 


o 


o 








Athaliah the Queen ....... 


1 


o 


o 








Joash ... 


40 


o 


o 








Amaziah . . . . . . . 


29 


n 
u 


A 

yj 








yj l zidii ........ 


52 














J Olllalll ........ 


16 














AllcLZ • • ••••••• 


10 














Hezekiah • 


29 














Man ass eh ........ 


55 














Amon ......... 


2 














Josiah ......... 


31 














V \jLL\JOiMJ ...*•.... 





3 











Ehakim, called by Pharaoh, Jehoikim .... 


11 














Jehoiachin 





3 











Jerusalem was re-edified, and built again after the Babylonish 














Captivity . . . . . . - . 








143 








The Captivity continued ...... 


70 














The Children of Israel restored to their freedom in the first 














year of Cyrus ....... 


1 














Carried over ...... 


71 








3521 


6 


10 



FROM ADAM UNTO CHRIST. 



47 



Brought over ...... 

The Temple was begun to be built in the 46th year, which 
was the sixth of Darius ..... 

After Darius had reigned 20 years, Nehemiah was restored to 
liberty, and went to build the City, which was finished in the 
32nd year of the said Darius, so that all the years from the 
building of the City again were . . . . . 

From the re-edifying of the City unto the coming of our Saviour 
It is mentioned in the 9th chapter of Daniel that Jerusalem should 
be built up again, and from that time unto the coming of Christ 
are 69 weeks, amounting to 483 years; for, from the 32nd 
year of Darius unto the 42nd year of Augustus, in which year 
our Saviour Christ was born, are just and complete so many years 
whereupon we reckon, that from Adam to Christ are exactly . 
Then the whole sum and number of years from the beginning of 
the World unto the year of our Lord 1838, will be just 5842 
years, 6 months, and the said odd 10 days. 



Particulars. 



Years. Mo. Davs. 

71 

46 



26 



Total. 



Years. Mo. Days. 

3521 6 10 



483 



4004 6 10 



CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 



Names. 



Authors. 



Dates in Years before Christ. 



Genesis 
Job . . 
Exodus 
Leviticus . 
Numbers . 
Deuteronomy 
Joshua 
Judges 
Ruth . . 
1st Samuel 
2nd Ditto . 
Psalms 

Solomon's Song 
Proverbs 
Ecclesiastes 
1st Kings . 
2nd Ditto . 
1st Chronicles 
2nd Ditto . 
Ezra 

Nehemiah . 
Esther . 



Moses 

Ditto . 

Ditto ........ 

Ditto 

Ditto . . . . . . . . 

Ditto * 

Joshua 

Samuel 

Ditto 

J Compiled by Samuel, Nathan, 
\ Gad, and others. 

David and others .... 

Solomon 

Ditto . . . . .... 

Ditto 

Nathan, Gad, Ahijah, Iddo, 
Isaiah, and others .... 

Ezra and others 

Ezra 

Nehemiah 

Ezra 



From 4004 to 1635. 

, , 2180 or 2130. 

, , 1635 to 1490. 
1490. 

From 1490 to 1451. 
1451. 

From 1451 to 1425. 

,, 1425 to 1120. 

,, 1241 to 1231. 

,, 1111 to 1055. 

,, 1055 to 1015. 
At various times. Those by 

David from 1060 to 1015. 
About 1010. 

, , 1000. 
977. 

From 1015 to 896. 
, , 896 to 562. 

, , 4004 to 536. 

536 to 456. 
455 to 420. 
, , 521 to 495. 



I 

48 FASTS, FESITVALS, Sec. 



CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 



Name. 


Before Christ. 


Kings of Judah. 


Kings of Israel. 


T 1, 

JOllcili . . 


Between 856 and 784 


t' 1 U 15 1 1 , 1 VI 11 1 1/, Ul 1 1, \J1 iiiui Idl 1 . 


J I llll ami JCIlUallcli, UI JU" 










Ii i\ nrl TprnlinnTn T T 

uSU illlU iK.l Ul lUil II 1 11, 


Amos 


, , olU , , 


725 


Tl77inn ( PX\ 1 VPT 

\J /.. ii 1 1 1 1 1 I t_ I 1 . 1 . VCli Jl • . 


*} CI \j L/Udlli 11, V^V_ \\ . 1. VCI« X. * J 


TrluSCcL • ■ 


810 


725 


Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Heze- 

1/inh inn i \rp r 1 i 

1\. lull ^ L 1 1 . 1* VCli 1 . J 


Tlitrn ( ox\ i vpv 1 ^ 

1-/1CIU v 11 vci . -/ 


loCUClll • * 


762 


698 


Ditto. 




Tnpl 


762 


698 


T T ? "7 1 Q n Pi T" IVT 1 nflttGAn 

\J Z.Z. Utll UI IVAillltlSSCll ■ • • 


JL/lllu . 


Micah . 


758 ,, 


669 


Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah 
(ch. i. ver. 1.) 




Nahum . 


720 ,, 


698 


About the close of Hezekiah's 
reign. 




Zephaniah . 


630 ,, 


612 


Josiah (ch. i. ver. 1.) 




Jeremiah . 


632 


586 


Ditto. 




Habakkuk . 


612 ,, 


598 


Jehoiakim. 




Daniel . 


606 


534 


During all the captivity. 




Obadiah 


628 


586 


Soon after the siege of Jeru- 










salem by Nebuchadnezzar. 




Ezekiel . 


590 ,, 


536 




Haggai . . 


529 ,, 


510 


After. the return from Babylon. 




Zechariah . 


529 ,, 


510 


Ditto. 




Malachi 


436 ,, 


397 







FASTS, FESTIVALS, &c. INSTITUTED. 



Advent Sunday, first observed 

All Saints ..... 

Andrew, St. .... 

Annunciation of the Virgin Mary . 

Ascension Day ..... 

Assumption of the Virgin Mary 

Bartholomew, St. .... 

Christmas-day first observed 

Conception of the Virgin Mary first observed 

Easter first observed .... 

controversy determined 

Epiphany, feast of . 
Fasts established ..... 
James, St., first observed 
Jews' principal fast instituted by Moses . 
Jude, St. . 

John, St., Baptist .... 

John, St., Evangelist .... 

Lent, (in Kent 640) .... 

Luke, St. . . . . . . 

Mark, St 



A.D. 
A.D. 
A.D. 
A.D. 
A.D. 



433 A.D. 

625 
359 
350 

68 
813 
1130 A.D 

68 A.D 
1387 a.d 

68 A.D 
667 a.d 
813 A.D 
138 A.D 

1089 a.d 
1490 b.c 
1030 A.D 

488 a.d 

313 A.D 

142 A.D 

1130 A.D 

1090 A.D 



/ 



KINGDOMS, &c. BUILT, FOUNDED, AND DESTROYED. 49 



FASTS, FESTIVALS, Sec.— continued. 



Matthew, St , 


. 1090 


A.D. 


Martin, St ' . . 


812 


A.D. 


Matthias, St. 


. 1090 


A.D. 


Michael, St. . . 


487 


A.D. 


Nativity of Virgin Mary . . . . . 


. 695 


A.D. 


Passover ........... 


1491 


B.C. 


Paul, St 


813 


A.D. 


Pentecost ........... 


68 


A.D. 


Peter, St 


813 


A.D. 


Purification of the Virgin Mary ....... 


542 


A.D. 


Rogation Days appointed ........ 


. 469 


A.D. 


Simon, St. .......... 


. 1030 


A.D. 


Thomas, St. . . . . . . - , . 


. 1130 


A.D. 


Transfiguration, Festival of, first observed. ..... 

Trinity, the word first applied to the persons of the Godhead 


700 


A.D. 


150 


A.D. 


Whitsuntide ........... 


68 


A.D. 



KINGDOMS, STATES, CITIES, &c. BUILT, FOUNDED, AND DESTROYED. 



Antioch built 

Assyria began under Ninus . 
lasted above 1264 years, 



ended with Sardanapalus, and out of its ruins were 



300 b.c. 
2059 b.c. 



formed the Assyrians of Babylon, those of Nineveh, and the Medes. 
Babel, Tower of, began to be built by Nimrod, upon which God confounds their lan 

guage, and thus disperses them into different nations 
Babylon founded by Nimrod . 

walled round. ...... 

taken by Cyrus ...... 

taken by Darius, after 18 months' siege 

Babylonish monarchy founded ...... 

Egypt, kingdom of, founded by Ham, and lasted 1 633 years 
reduced to a province ..... 



Judea, government of, under the Maccabees, began (and continued 
Jerusalem, city of, built . . . 

temple of, built by Solomon . 

temple of, destroyed by Titus 

temple of, rebuilt by Adrian . 

temple of, again destroyed . 

■ taken by the Saracens . 

taken by the Crusaders, July 14th 

taken by Saladin 

Ilium built .... 
Lydia, kingdom of, began 
Macedon, kingdom of, began 
Nineveh, kingdom of, founded by Ashur 
kingdom of, destroyed 

Old World destroyed by a Deluge which continued 377 days 



126 years) 



2247 b.c. 
2640 b.c. 
1243 b.c. 

538 b.c. 

511 B.C. 
2217 b.c. 
2188 b.c. 

31 A.D. 

163 b.c. 
1800 b.c. 
1004 b.c. 
70 A.D. 

130 A.D. 

136 A.D. 

637 a.d. 
1099 a.d. 

1190 A.D. 

1359 b.c. 

797 b.c. 

814 b.c. 
2614 b.c. 

610 b.c. 
2348 b.c. 
H 



50 



SACRED WRITINGS, INSTITUTIONS, &c. 
KINGDOMS, STATES, CITIES, &c— continued. 



Persian Empire founded ...... 

Rome, city of, built by Romulus, according to most chronologers 

By Sir I. Newton, only 
Roman Empire began . 

Empire ended. 

Empire began in the West. 

Empire ended in the West . 

■ Empire began in the East 

Empire ended in the East 

It was 3000 miles long and 2000 broad. 
Samaria taken after three years' siege, and the kingdom of Israel finished 

Salmanazar, King of Assyria, who carried the ten tribes into captivity 
Sodom and Gomorrah, cities of, destroyed by fire from Heaven 
Syracuse, in the island of Sicily, founded .... 
Thebes, city of, built by Cadmus ..... 
Troy, city of, built . ... 

kingdom, began ....... 



by 



536 b.c. 
753 b.c. 
627 b.c. 
44 b.c. 

63 A.D. 
74 A.D. 
92 A.D. 

364 a.d. 
1553 a.d. 



720 b.c. 
1897 b.c. 

709 b.c. 

492 b.c 
1480 b.c 
1440 b.c. 



SACRED WRITINGS, INSTITUTIONS, &c. 



Acts of the Apostles written by St. Luke ..... 
Athanasian Creed written about 

Anathema first used in the Church ...... 

Anthems first used in Churches ....... 

Archdeacon, the first appointed in England ..... 

Altars first used .......... 

consecrated . . . . . . ' . 

first in Britain ......... 

Roman, dug up at Carlisle ....... 

Bible history ceased ........ 

first authorized edition in England ..... 

second translation ordered to be read in Churches 

present translation finished in September ..... 

permitted by the Pope to be translated into all the languages of the Catholic 

States, 28th February ........ 

Christianity is supposed to have been introduced into Britain by St. Paul and Joseph 

of Arimathea ......... 

Circumcision instituted ........ 

Covenant of God made with Abram when he leaves Haran to go into Canaan 
Commandments given to Moses ....... 

Commandments, Creed, and Gloria Patri, translated into the Saxon language 
Computing of time by the Christian aira introduced by Dionysius . 
Common Prayer published in English by authority of Parliament . 
Homilies drawn up by Archbishop Cranmer ..... 

James, St., Epistles of, written ....... 

Jeremiah, Lamentations of, written ....... 

prophesies, 629 to 610 before Christ. 



63 A.D. 

340 a.d. 

387 

385 
1075 

135 

271 

634 
1808 

346 
1539 
1549 
1611 



a.d. 
a.d. 

A.D. 
A.M. 
A.D. 
A.D. 

A. D. 

B. C. 
A.D. 
A.D. 
A.D. 



1759 A.D. 



63 

2048 
1921 
1491 

781 

516 
1548 
1547 
59 

610 b.c. 



A.D. 

A. M. 

B. C. 
B.C. 
A.D. 
A.D. 
A.D. 
A.D. 
A.D. 



SACRED WRITINGS, INSTITUTIONS, &c. 
SACRED WRITINGS, INSTITUTIONS, &c— continued. 



51 



John, St., Apostle, wrote his Epistles 

Evangelist, wrote his Revelations and Gospel 

Joshua, book of, written 
Jude, St., wrote his Epistle 
Litanies first used in churches 
Litany first used in England, in English 
Liturgy first read in Scotland 
Luke, St., wrote his Gospel . 

' wrote the Acts of the Apostles 

Maccabees written about 
Mark, St., wrote his Gospel . 
Matthew, St., wrote his Gospel 
Marriage in Lent forbidden 

■ forbidden to the Priests 

first celebrated in Churches 

Maundy Thursday ceremony commenced 
Nicene Creed made 
Passover instituted, Monday, May 4th 

— celebrated in the Temple, April 18th 

last celebrated by our blessed Lord and Saviour, and the Sacrament instituted 

in its room, April 2nd ...... 

Paul, St., wrote his First Epistle to the Corinthians and Galatians 

wrote his First Epistle to the Thessalonians . 

wrote his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians 

wrote his Epistle to the Romans 

wrote his Second Epistle to the Corinthians . 

wrote his Epistles to the Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and to Philemon 

wrote his First Epistle to Timothy and that to Titus 

wrote his Second Epistle to Timothy and Titus 

introduces the Gospel into Britain 

Pentateuch written by Moses in the land of Moab 
Peter, St., wrote his First Epistle .... 

■ wrote his Second Epistle 

Psalms of David translated by Sternhold and Hopkins 

New Version of, by Tate and Brady, about 

Sabbatical year, the first .... 

Scriptures ordered to be read in Monasteries in Britain 
Septuagint said to have been found in a cask 
Singing in churches first established 
Solomon wrote his Ecclesiastes 
Talmud written ...... 

Tithes given by Abram to Melchisedek 

given by Moses to the tribe of Levi 

first granted to the Church of England . 

first collected in England 

first established in England . 

established by law by the Lateran Council 

Vulgate edition of the Bible discovered 
Water mixed with Wine instituted in the Sacrament 
Worshipping of Images introduced . « 



92 


A.D. 


96 


A.D. 


1415 


B.C. 


71 


A.D. 


443 


A.D. 


1543 


A.D. 


1638 


A.D. 


55 


A.D. 


63 


A.D. 


130 


B.C. 


44 


A.D. 


44 


A.D. 


354 


A.D. 


1015 


A.D. 


1226 


A.D. 


1362 


A.D. 


325 


A.D. 


1491 


B.C. 


515 


B.C. 


33 


A.D. 


51 


A.D. 


52 


A.D. 


53 


A.D. 


58 


A.D. 


62 


A.D. 


63 


A.D. 


63 


A.D. 


66 


A.D. 


63 


A.D. 


1452 


B.C. 


oO 


A.D. 


66 


A.D. 


1552 


A.D. 


1696 


A.D. 


1451 


B.C. 


74b 


A.D. 


217 


A.D. 


67 


A.D. 


987 


B.C. 


117 


B.C. 


1946 


B.C. 


1490 


B.C. 


786 


A.D. 


750 


A.D. 


894 


A.D. 


1200 


A.D. 


218 


A.D. 


122 


A.D. 


787 


A.D. 



h2 



52 NAMES OF REMARKABLE PERSONS 

NAMES OF EMINENT AND REMARKABLE PERSONS MENTIONED IN HOLY WRIT. 



Aaron, the first high priest of the Jews, born 

died ... 

Abel born in the year 3 of the world, killed by 
Abraham born ..... 

entertained three angels . 

circumcised when 99 years old . 

offered up Isaac 

died, aged 175 years 

Adam died, aged 930 years 

Agrippa, king of Judah, died, aged 54 years 

Ahab, king of Israel, died 

Ahaz, king of Judah, died 

Ananias and Sapphira struck dead . 

Andrew, St., martyred, November 30 

Athanasius died, aged 73 years 

Bartholomew, St., martyred, August 24 

Belshazzar slain at Babylon . 

Cain born ...... 

Cyrus, first king of Persia 
Daniel sent captive to Babylon 

interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream 

■ cast into the lions' den 

• predicted the Persian empire 



David born at Bethlehem 

succeeded Saul as king over Israel 

committed adultery with Bathsheba 

— — married her .... 

died ..... 

Eli, the eleventh judge of Israel, broke his neck at Shiloh, aged 98 
Elijah prophesied .... 

supported by the widow of Sarephath 

taken up into Heaven . 

Elisha prophesied 60 years, and died 
Ezra flourished ..... 
Enoch translated into Heaven, aged 365 years 
Gamaliel, chief of the Synagogue, died 
Habakkuk prophesied .... 
Haggai prophesied .... 
Haman hanged by order of Ahasuerus 
Herod reigned in Judea 

put his wife Mariamne and his mother-in 

his two sons put to death by the Jewish council 

died, November 25 

Hiram, king of Tyre, died 
Isaac, Abraham's son, died, aged 180 years 
Isaiah began to prophesy 

put to death by king Manasseh, who ordered him to be sawn 

James, St., the Less, bishop of Jerusalem, martyred 
Jacob stole the blessing from Esau . 

went iuto Egypt ..... 

died, aged 147 years .... 



law Alexandrina to 



years 



death 



asunder 



1570 


B.C. 


1473 


B.C. 


129 


A.M. 


1996 


B.C. 


1897 


B.C. 


1897 


B.C. 


1871 


B.C. 


1821 


B.C. 


3074 


B.C. 


94 


A.D. 


897 


B.C. 


726 


B.C. 


33 


A.D. 


69 


A.D. 


371 


A.D. 


71 


A.D. 


553 


B.C. 


4003 


B.C. 


559 


B.C. 


606 


B.C. 


603 


B.C. 


538 


B.C. 


534 


B.C. 


1085 


B.C. 


1055 


B.C. 


1035 


B.C. 


1033 


B.C. 


1015 


B.C. 


1095 


B.C. 


911 


B.C. 


910 


B.C. 


896 


B.C. 


836 


B.C. 


457 


B.C. 


987 


B.C. 


53 


A.D. 


690 


B.C. 


520 


B.C. 


474 


B.C. 


55 


B.C. 


28 


B.C. 


6 


B.C. 


4 


A.D. 


900 


B.C. 


1730 


B.C. 


760 


B.C. 


696 


B.C. 


62 


A.D. 


1776 


B.C. 


1705 


B.C. 


1689 


B.C. 



MENTIONED IN HOLY WRIT. 
NAMES OF EMINENT AND REMARKABLE PERSONS — continued. 



53 



James, St., put to death 

made patron of Spain 

Jephthah made his rash vow . 
— — — — died .... 
Jeremiah prophesied 

foretold the Jewish captivity 

died .... 

Jesus, son of Sirach, flourished 

Jesus Christ was born Monday, 25th December, in the year of Rome 752 

baptized by John, and his first ministry 

celebrated the last Passover, and instituted the Sacrament in its room, 

on Thursday, April 2nd, was crucified April 3rd, rose from the dead April 5th, 

and ascended into heaven Thursday, May 14th, following 
Job died, aged 189 years ...... 

Joel prophesied ........ 

John, St., Baptist, beheaded ...... 

Evangelist, died, aged 91 years, December 27th 

Jonah sent to Nineveh ....... 

Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites ..... 

1 — tempted by Potiphar's wife ..... 

made governor of Egypt ..... 

died in Egypt, aged 110 years . . 

Luke, St., died, about 84 years of age, and was buried at Constantinople 
Lazarus raised from the dead, a.d. 33, died December 17 
Malachi flourished 
Martin, St., died . 
Manasseh chosen High Priest 
Mark, St., died . 
Matthew, St., died 
Matthias, High Priest . 
Memnon, the Egyptian, invents the letters . 
Misraim, the son of Ham, founds the kingdom of Egypt 
Methuselah died, aged 969 years .... 

Micah flourished. ...... 

Mary, the blessed Virgin, died, aged 60 . 
Moses born ....... 

called down the Ten Plagues upon Egypt, and leaves Egypt with 600,000 

Israelites besides children ..... 

received the tables of stone on Mount Sinai May 4th . 

died, aged 120 years ...... 

Nahum prophesied . ...... 

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Assyria ..... 

Nehemiah, prophet, flourished ..... 

Noah directed to build the Ark 120 years before the Flood . 

died, aged 950 years . . . 

Obadiah prophesied ....... 

Paul, St., converted ....... 

caught up to the third Heaven .... 

visited Athens and Corinth ..... 

■ died June 29th ....... 

Peter, St., baptized Cornelius and established Bishop of Antioch 



41 A.D. 

796 a.d. 

1187 b.c. 

1182 b.c. 
629 b.c. 
607 b.c 
577 b.c 
247 b.c 

4004 a.m. 

30 A.D. 



33 A.D. 

1553 b.c. 
800 b.c 

32 A.D. 
91 A.D. 

862 b.c. 
1728 b.c 
1718 b.c. 
1715 b.c. 
1635 b.c. 

70 A.D. 
37 A.D. 

400 b.c. 
402 a.d. 
253 b.c. 

68 a.d. 

65 a.d. 

6 B.C. 

1829 b.c. 
2188 b.c. 
1656 b.c. 
754 b.c. 

45 A.D. 

1571 b.c. 

1492 b.c. 
1491 b.c. 
1451 b.c. 

713 B.C. 

606 b.c. 

445 b.c. 

A. M. 

B. C. 
B.C. 
A.D. 
A.D. 



1536 

1998 
587 
33 
44 



50 A.D. 
67 A.D. 
37 A.D. 



54 



THE MOSAIC LAW. 
NAMES OF EMINENT AND REMARKABLE PERSONS — continued. 



Peter, St., established the see of Rome ........ 41 a.d. 

■ — died ............ 76 a.d. 

Pharaoh ordered all the male children of the Hebrews to be destroyed . . . 1573 b.c. 

drowned with his army, Monday, May 11th ...... 1491 b.c. 

Pilate made governor of Judea ......... 27 a.d. 

killed himself . . ......... 40 a.d. 

Zephaniah, the prophet, flourished ......... 612 b.c. 



THE MOSAIC LAW, 

Or the law of Moses, is the most ancient that we know of in the world, and is of three 
kinds ; the Moral law, the Ceremonial law, and the Judicial law. The different manner in 
which each of them was delivered, may perhaps suggest to us a right idea of their different 
natures. The Moral law, or Ten Commandments, for instance, was delivered on the top of 
the mountain, in the face of the whole of the Israelites, as being of universal influence, and 
obligatory on all mankind. The Ceremonial law was received by Moses in private in the 
tabernacle, as being of peculiar concern, belonging to the Jews only, and destined to cease 
when the tabernacle was down, and the vail of the temple rent. As to the Judicial law, 
it was neither so publicly nor so audibly given as the Moral law, nor yet so privately as the 
Ceremonial ; this kind of law being of an indifferent nature, to be observed or not observed, 
as its rites suit with the place and government under which we live. The five books of Moses 
called the Pentateuch, are frequently styled, by way of emphasis, the Law. This was held 
in such estimation and veneration by the Jews, that they would not allow it to be laid upon 
the bed of any sick person, lest it should be polluted by touching the dead. I here present 
the reader with a Table or Harmony of the Mosaic Law, digested into proper heads, with 
references to the several parts of the Pentateuch, &c. where the respective Laws occur. 





Exodus. 


Leviticus. 


Numbers. 


Deuteronomy. 


Class I. 


Chap. 


Chap. 


Chap. 


Chap. 


The Moral Law, "written on the Two Tables, 

containing the Ten Commandments. 
The first table,, which includes — 


20, 23 

20, 23, 34 
20, 23 


19, 20, 26 


:: ! 


5, 6, 13 
4, 5, 6, 7, 
8, 10, 11, 

12, 13 
5 



THE MOSAIC LAW. 



55 



Exodus. 



Leviticus. 



Numbers. 



Deuteronomy. 



The fourth commandment 

The second table, including — 

The fifth commandment 

The sixth commandment . 

The seventh commandment . . • . 

The eighth commandment 

The ninth commandment 

The tenth commandment 

The sum of both tables 

Class II. 

The Ceremonial Law may be fitly reduced to 
the following heads, viz. : — 

Of the holy place 

Of the matter and structure of the tabernacle . j 

Of the instruments of the same, viz. : — 

The laver of brass 

The altar of burnt offering 

The altar of incense 

The candlestick of pure gold . . . . . 

The table of shew-bread 

Of the priests, and their vestments for glory and 

beauty 

Of the choosing of the Levites 

Of the priests' office in general 

Of their office in teaching 

Of their office in blessing 

Of their office in offering ; which function 
largely spreading itself, is divided into these 
heads, viz. : — 
What the sacrifice ought to be 

Of the continual fire 

Of the manner of the burnt offerings 
Of the manner of the peace offerings 
Of the manner of the sacrifices according to their 
several kinds, viz. : — ■ 
For sin committed through ignorance of the 

law . . • 

For sin committed through ignorance of the 

fact 

For sin committed wittingly, yet not through 

impiety 

The special law of sacrifice for sin . 
Of things belonging to the sacrifices. 

Of the shew-bread 

Of the lamps 



Chap. 

20, 23, 31, 
34, 35 

20, 22 

20 

20 
20, 23 
20, 23 

20 



20 

25, 26, 27, 
35 

30 
27 
30 
25 
25, 26 

• 28 



27 



Chap. 

19, 23, 26 

19 
19 
18, 19 
19 
19 

19 



11 



19 



10 



22 
6 

6, 7 

3, 1 



4 

5, 1 
6 

6, 1 
2, 6, 1 

24 
24 



Chap. 



Chap. 



5 
5 

5, 23 
5 
5 
5 
6 



12 



18, 3, 8 
3, 18 



18, 12,17, 
31 



15, 17 



15 

8 



56 



THE MOSAIC LAW. 






Exodus. 


Leviticus. 


Numbers. 


DeuteroDomy. 




Chap. 


Chap. 


Chap. 


Chap. 


30 








Of the use of ordinary oblations, whereof there 










11* 1 1_ 1 1 < 1 _ • , 

were several kinds observed by the priests : — 










Of the consecrations of the high priests and the 


1 29, 30 










1 


6, 8 






Of the consecration and office ot the Levites. 






8 




Of the dwelling of the Levites . 










Of the anointing the altar, and all the instru- 


I 9Q 30 














* * 






29 




28 




Of the continual sabbath day's sacrifice . 






28 




Of the solemn sacrifice for feast-days, which were 










diverse and had peculiar rites, distinguished 










into these, viz. : — 
















10 










28 




Of the three most solemn feasts in general . 


23, 34 


23 




16 


1 


12, 13, 25, 
34 


1 23 
1 


9, 28 


16 


/-\ r , i c _ i. _ i' *n j . 


23, 24 


23 


28 


16 


*""V . 1 /• i 1 1 


23, 34 


23 


29 


16 


Ot the feast ot blowing the trumpets. 




23 


29 






30 


13, 16 


29 






22, 23, 24 


2 


15 


26 






21 


18 


12, 14, 26 
* * $ 


Of fruits growing and not eaten of ... 




19 






13, 22, 34 






15 




23 


25 










25 










27 


30 


13 


Wbat persons ought not to make vows . 






oU 








27 




23 






27 












6 




Of the laws proper for the priests, viz. : — 














22 






Of the high priest s mourning .... 




21 










21 






Of the mourning of the ordinary priests . 




21 




• * 






21 






Of their being forbid the use of wine, &c. . 




i n 

1U 










6, 17, 19, 
20 


} 5,18 


12, 15, 18 


Of the office of the Levites, viz. : — 
















17, 27, 31 








3, 4, 18 


10 


Other promiscuous ceremonial laws, viz. : — 












15, 19 


5 




Of uncleanness in meats, viz. : — 










Of blood Gen. 9 


23 


7, 17, 19 




12 



THE MOSAIC LAW. 



57 



■ — --■ ■ — ■■ 




Exodus. 


Leviticus. 


Numbers. 


Deuteronomy. 




Chap. 


Chap. 


Chap. 


Chap. 
# , 


Of fat 




3,7 






22 


17 




14 


Of other meats and divers living creatures . 




11, 20 




14 


Of uncleanness in the issue of seed and blood 




15, 12 




23 








19 








13, 14 


5 








12 












19 




Of the mourning of the Israelites .... 




19 




14 






19 


. . 


14 


Of their garments, and writing the law privately. 




. . 


15 


6, 11, 22 


Of young birds not to be taken with their dam . 








22 










23 


Class III. 


- 








The Political Law. 










N.B. The magistrate is the keeper of the 










precepts of both tables, and to have respect to 
human society ; therefore, the political laws of 


















the Israelites are referred to both the tables, and 










are to be reduced to the several precepts of the 










moral law. 










1 jflWQ VPTprfpn tc\ trip fil*er tahiA T7i*7 • 










1st. To the first and second commandments, 










viz. — 












22 


20 




13, 17 




23, 24 




33 


7, 12 


Of diviners and false prophets .... 


22 


19, 20 




18 


Of covenants with other gods .... 


23, 24 






7 


2nd. To the third commandment, viz. : — 














24 


15 




3rd. To the fourth commandment, viz. : — 












31, 35 




15 




Political laws referred to the second table, viz. : — 










1st. To the fifth commandment, viz. :— 










Of magistrates and their authority . 


18, 30 




11 | 

1 


1, 13, 17, 
23 


Of the power of fathers . . Jud. 11 & 18 






11 


2nd. To the sixth commandment, viz. : — 


















21, 24 


Of wilful murder ... ... 


21 


24 


35 


19 


Of manslaughter unwittingly committed, and 


1 * 




35 


19, 21, 22 






Of heinous injury ... 


21 


24 




25 


Of punishments not capital . 








25 










25 



I 



58 



THE MOSAIC LAW. 



3rd. To the seventh commandment, viz. : — 

Of unlawful marriages 

Of fornication . 

Of whoredom 

Of adultery and jealousy 

• Of copulation against nature .... 
Of divorcements 

Other matrimonial laws 

4th. To the eighth commandment, viz. : — 

Of the punishment of thefts 

Of sacrilege Josh. 7 

Of not injuring strangers 

Of not defrauding hirelings 

Of just weights 

Of removing the land-mark 

Of lost goods < 

Of stray cattle 

Of corrupted judgments 

Of fire breaking out by chance .... 

Of man-stealing 

Of the fugitive servant 

Of gathering fruits 

Of contracts, viz. : — 

Borrowing 

Of the pledge 

Of usury 

Of selling 

Of the thing lent 

Of a thing committed to be kept . 

Of heirs 2 Sam. 14 

5th. To the ninth commandment, viz. : — 

Of witnesses 

The establishing the political law 

The establishing the divine law in general . 

From the dignity of the law-giver . . . 

From the excellency of the laws . . . ■ . 
Of false witnesses 

From the promises j 

From the threatenings 



Exodus. 



Chap. 

22 
22 

21 

22 
22, 23 



22 
22, 23 
23 
22 
21 



22 
22 
21 
22 



23 

15, 19, 23, 
24 



23 



Leviticus. 



Chap. 

18, 20 
19 
21 

19, 20 
18, 20 

18, 20 



19 
19 
19 



19 



23 



25 
25 



19, 20, 22 



18, 26 



26 



Numbers. 



Chap. 



15 



Deuteronomy. 



Chap. 
7,21 

23 
22 



24 

21, 22, 24, 
25 



10 

25, 26 
25 
19 

22 
16, 24 

24 
23 
23, 24 

15 
24 
23 
15 

12 



17, 19 
4 

6, 11, 29, 

30, 31 
4, 5, 6, 7, 
8, 10, 26, 
27 
4, 26 

4, 5," 6, 7, 
10, 11, 12, 
28 

■ 4, 7, 11, 
27, 28, 29, 
30 



59 



ON THE MILLENNIUM. 
The following information respecting the Millennium having been put into my hands by 
a reverend Divine, I trust the publication of it will prove interesting to the generality of 
my readers, and I therefore introduce it here without any comment. 

Millennium, "a thousand years;" generally employed to denote the thousand years during 
which, according to an ancient tradition in the Church, grounded on some doubtful 
texts in the Apocalypse and other Scriptures, our blessed Saviour shall reign with the 
faithful upon earth after the first resurrection, before the final completion of beatitude. 
Though there has been no age of the Church in which the Millennium was not admitted by 
individual divines of the first eminence, it is yet evident from the writings of Eusebius, 
Irenaeus, Origen, and others among the ancients, as well as from the histories of Dupin, 
Mosheim, and all the moderns, that it was never adopted by the whole church, or made an 
article of the established creed of any nation. 

About the middle of the fourth century the millenarians held the following tenets, viz. — 

1st. That the city of Jerusalem should be rebuilt, and that the land of Judea should be 
the habitation of those who were to reign on earth 1000 years. 

2ndly. That the first resurrection was not to be confined to the martyrs ; but that after the 
fall of Antichrist all the just were to rise, and all that were on the earth were to continue for 
that space of time. 

3rdly. That Christ shall then come down from heaven, and be seen on earth, and reign 
there with his servants. 

4thly. That the saints during this period shall enjoy all the delights of an earthly 
paradise. 

These opinions were founded upon several passages of Scripture, which the millenarians 
among the fathers understood in no other than a literal sense, but which the moderns, who 
hold that opinion, consider as partly literal and partly metaphorical. Of these passages, that, 
upon which the greatest stress has been laid, we believe to be the following : " And I saw an 
angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in 
his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, 
and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, 
and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years 
should be fulfilled : and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, 
and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them : and I saw the souls of them 
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not 
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, 
nor in their hands , and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the 
rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. This is the first 
resurrection."— Rev. xx. 1 — 6. This passage all the ancient millenarians took in a sense 
grossly literal, and taught that during the Millennium the saints on earth were to enjoy every 
bodily delight. The moderns, on the other hand, consider the power and pleasure of this 
kingdom as only spiritual ; and they represent them as not to commence till after the 

i 2 



60 



THE MILLENNIUM. 



conflagration of the present earth : but that this last supposition is a mistake the very next 
verse except one assures us, for we are there told, that " When the thousand years are 
expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which 
are in the four quarters of the earth ;" and we have no reason to believe that he will have 
such power or such liberty in " The new heavens, and the new earth wherein dwelleth 
righteousness." 

For this and other reasons, which our limits will not permit us to enumerate, the most 
judicious critics contend, that the prophecies of the Millennium point not to a resurrection of 
martyrs and other just men to reign with Christ a thousand years in a visible kingdom upon 
earth, but to that state of the Christian Church which, for a thousand years before the generaL 
judgment, will be so pure and widely extended, that, when compared with the state of the world 
in the ages preceding, it may, in the language of the Scriptures, be called a resurrection from 
the dead. In support of this interpretation they quote two passages from St. Paul, in which 
a conversion from Paganism to Christianity, and a reformation of life, is called a resurrection 
from the dead. " Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto 
sin; but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead" Rom. vi. 13 
And again, " Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and 
Christ shall give thee light," Eph. v. 14. It is likewise to be observed, that in all the 
descriptions of the resurrection and future judgment which are given us at such length in the 
Gospels and Epistles, there is no mention made of a first and second resurrection at the 
distance of a thousand years from each other. There is indeed an order in the resurrection ; 
for we are told, 1 Cor. xv. 23, that, " Every man shall rise in his own order; Christ the 
first fruits, afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming," &c. But were the millenarian 
hypothesis well founded, the words should rather have run thus : " Christ the first fruits, 
then the martyrs at his coming, and a thousand years afterwards the residue of mankind. 
Then cometh the end," &c. 

These arguments strongly incline us to believe, that by the reign of Christ and the saints 
for a thousand years upon earth, nothing more is meant, than that before the general judg- 
ment the Jews shall be converted; genuine Christianity shall be diffused through all nations, 
and mankind enjoy that peace and happiness which the faith and precepts of the Gospel are 
calculated to confer on all by whom they are sincerely embraced. See Matt. xxiv. 14: " And 
this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; 
and then shall the end come." And again, same chapter, 30th and 31st verses: " And then 
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven ; and then shall all the tribes of the earth 
mourn, and ihey shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and 
great glorv. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall 
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Our 
Saviour's own account of his religion is. that from a small beginning it will increase to a full 
harvest. The Millennium is therefore to be considered as the full effect of the Christian 
principles in the hearts of men, and over the whole world ; and the Divines who have treated 



THE MILLENNIUM. 61 

of this subject endeavour to prove, that this is to be expected from the facts which have already 
existed, and from the importance of the Christian doctrine. 

1st. The gradual progress of Christianity is no objection to this fact. This is similar to 
the progress and advancement from less to greater perfection in everything which possesses 
vegetable and animal life. The same thing is observed in the arts, in civilization, in societies' 
and in individuals, and why should it not be admitted to have place in religion? There is 
indeed, a general principle on which a gradual progression, both in the natural and moral 
world, is founded. The Almighty never employs supernatural means where the thing can be 
accomplished by those which are natural. This idea is of the most general extent through 
the whole of the present system of nature. The possibility of another plan could easily be 
admitted ; but in this case there would be a total alteration of every part of the works of 
God, or of man, that we are acquainted with. In the same manner, if the religion of Christ 
had been irresistible, it would have totally altered its natural consequences. It was necessary, 
therefore, from the present condition of man, as an active, intelligent, and accountable being, 
that means should be employed ; and whenever means are employed, the effects produced 
must be expected to be gradual, not instantaneous. 

2nd. Though the progress of a divine revelation be gradual, yet it is to be expected, from 
the wisdom and compassion of God, that it will still be advancing in the hearts of men, and 
over the world. In the first age of the church, the word of God, supported by miracles, and 
by the animated zeal of men who spake what they saw and heard, grew and prevailed. In 
this case supernatural means were necessary, because the prejudices of the world could not 
be subdued without them. It was the first watering of a plant which you afterwards leave 
to the refreshing dew of Heaven. Miracles, at the same time, were only employed as the 
means of conviclion; and they were not continued, because in such case they would have 
become a constant and irresistible principle, incompatible with the condition of man as a 
reasonable agent. After this power was withdrawn, there were many ages of ignorance and 
superstition in the Christian Church. But what is necessary to be established on this subject 
is, not that the progress of Christianity has never been interrupted, but that on the whole 
it has been advancing. The effects of this religion on mankind, in proportion as it was 
received, were immediate and visible ; it destroyed the superstition of idol-worship ; it abolished 
the practice, which was general in the heathen world, of reducing to the lowest state of 
servitude the greatest part of our brethren ; it softened the horrors of war, even when the 
vices of mankind made defence necessary ; it entered into social and private life ; and taught 
men benevolence, humanity, and virtue. It is in these blessed effects that we can observe 
the progress of Christianity even to this day. Superstition and idolatry were soon engrafted 
on the stem which our Saviour planted in the world; but tbe simplicity of the Gospel has 
been gradually undermining the fabric of superstition ; and the men who are most nearly 
interested in the deceit are now almost ashamed to show their faces in the cause. The practice 
of slavery has, generally speaking, been extinguished in the Christian world ; yet the remains 
of it have been a disgrace to the Christian name, and the professors of that religion have now 



62 



THE MILLENNIUM. 



begun to see the inconsistency. War is not only carried on with less animosity, and less 
havoc of the human species, but men begin to cultivate more generally, and delight in, the 
arts of peace. The increasing spirit of charity and benevolence, of which it would' be easy to 
give unexampled instances in the present age, is a decided proof of the increasing influence of 
Christianity. At the same time, if, instead of these general principles, we were to descend to 
private examples of infidelity or of wickedness, it would be easy to bring proofs in support of 
an opposite opinion : but the reasoning would by no means be equally conclusive ; for if the 
general principles by which society is regulated be more liberal and merciful, it is evident 
that there is more goodness in a greater number of the human race. Society is nothing more 
than a collection of individuals ; and the general tone, especially when it is on the side of 
virtue, which almost in every instance opposes the designs of leading and interested men, is 
a certain evidence of the private spirit. To show that this reformation is connected with 
Christianity, it is unnecessary to state any comparison between the influence of heathen, and 
the influence of Christian, principles ; between civilization as depending on the powers of 
the human understanding, and on the efficacy of the Word of God. The whole of this 
controversy may be appealed to as an obvious fact, viz., that as any nation has come nearer to 
the simplicity of its worship, it has been more.possessed of those national virtues which we have 
ascribed to the influence of Christianity. This fact is worth a thousand volumes of speculation 
on this subject. 

3rd. A revelation sanctioned by the Almighty, for a benevolent purpose, will be expected 
to produce effects corresponding to the wisdom which gave it, and to the purpose for which 
it is employed. It may be gradual, but it will be increasing, and must increase, to the full 
harvest. He who has begun the good work will also finish it. It is reasonable to expect 
this illustrious success of the Gospel, both from the nature of the thing, and from the pro- 
phecies contained in the Sacred Scriptures. The precepts of the Gospel, in their genuine 
sense, are admirably calculated for the peace and welfare both of individuals and society. 
The greatest liberality of mind, the greatest generosity of temper, the most unbounded love, 
and the greatest indifference to the accumulation of this world's property, if they glowed 
from breast to breast, and operated with equal force on all men, would be productive of 
equal good and equal happiness to all. We are scarcely able to perceive the force of this 
at first view, because the deceit and imposition which yet exist in the world prevent the 
operation of the best principles even in the best hearts ; but in proportion to the improvement 
of mankind, what is their real interest, and what are the real objects of happiness, will 
gradually unfold. The contempt of vice will be greater in proportion to the scarcity of it ; 
for one villain gives countenance and support to another, just as iron sharpeneth iron. This 
opens to Our view another fact connected with the 7 practice of Christianity, namely, that the 
nearer it arrives to its perfect state, the more rapid will be its progress. The beauty of 
holiness will be more visible; and, in the emphatic language of the Prophet, Isaiah lxvi. 8, 
" The earth shall bring forth in one day, and a nation shall be born at once." This future 
perfection of the Gospel is consistent with its nature and importance. We can scarcely 



THE MILLENNIUM. 63 

believe that means so admirably adapted to the reformation of mankind should be without 
their effect ; and if the more difficult part be already accomplished, we have no reason to 
apprehend that the scheme will not be completed. This fact is also clearly the subject of 
ancient prophecy. For, " Thus saith the Lord, I will extend peace to her like a river, and 
the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. And it shall come to pass, from one sabbath 
to another, and from one new moon to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me j 
saith the Lord," Isa. lxvi. 11, 12. "Violence shall be no more heard in thy land, wasting 
nor destruction within thy border ; but thou shalt call thy walls, salvation, and thy gates, 
praise," Isa. lx. 18. 

Without entering more minutely on the prophecy already quoted from Rev. xx., it is 
sufficient to observe, that Dr. Whitby, in his treatise on the Millennium at the end of his 
Commentary, proves, in the clearest manner, from the spirit of the passage, and the similarity 
of the expressions with those of other prophets, that it refers to a state of the Church for a 
thousand years, which shall be like life from the dead. The commencement of this period 
is connected with two events; the fall of Antichrist, and the conversion of the Jews. The 
latter of these events must be considered as a key to all the prophecies concerning the 
Millennium. As the Jews were the ancient and chosen people of God, and as their conversion 
is to be the previous step to the general knowledge of Christianity, the prophecies of the 
Millennium have a chief relation to this important event. We have already observed, that 
God never interposes with miraculous power to produce what can be effected by natural 
means ; and from what we know of human nature, we cannot but perceive that the conversion 
of the Jews will powerfully operate to the general conversion of mankind. Freed from those 
prejudices which now make them the objects of hatred in all nations, and fired with that 
zeal by which new converts are always actuated, they will preach the Gospel with a fervour of 
which we, who have long been blessed with its rays, can hardly form a conception ; and, 
by their dispersion over the whole earth, they will be enabled to adapt their ' instructions to 
every individual of the human race in the language of his fathers. Indeed, if they are not 
at some future period to be employed by Providence for this purpose, it is difficult, if not 
impossible, to give any reason for their dispersed state and political existence. At the present 
time it must be confessed they are the most implacable enemies of the Christian name ; 
but their conversion is not on that account more unlikely, nor improbable] than were events, 
which have taken place, of nearly equal importance, a very few years ago. On the whole, 
the perfection of Christianity is a doctrine of reasonable expectation to the Church ; and it 
is impossible for the advocates for natural religion to deny, that unlimited obedience to its 
precepts is consistent with the purest state of liberty and of happiness. This is the only 
Millennium which the prophets and apostles, as we understand them, promise to the saints ; but 
as men moving in the very highest paths of literature have thought otherwise, we would not be 
too confident that our interpretation is just. Such who wish for further information will find it 
in the works of Mr. Mede, Bishop Newton, Dr. Whitby, and Dr. Gill ; and to those masterly 
writers we wish to refer them for that satisfaction which in such a work as this cannot be given. 



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65 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



OF THE BIBLE. 

The Bible of the Christians is, without exception, the most remarkable work now in existence. 
In the libraries of the learned there are frequently seen books of an extraordinary antiquity, 
both curious and interesting from the nature of their contents ; but none approach the Bible, 
taken in its complete sense, in point of age, while certainly no production whatever has any 
pretension to rival it in the dignity of composition, or the important nature of the subjects 
treated of in its pages. The word Bible is of Greek origin, and, in signifying simply The 
Book, is expressive of its superiority over all other literary productions. The origin and 
nature of this every way singular work, how it was preserved during the most remote ages, 
and how it became known to the modern world in its present shape, form a highly interesting 
chapter of literary history. 

The Bible comprehends the entire foundation of the religious belief of the Jews and Chris- 
tians, and is divided into two distinct portions, entitled the Old and New Testament, the 
former being that which is esteemed by the Jewish nation, but both being essential in forming 
the faith of the Christian. The Old Testament is the largest department of the work, and 
presents a collection of detached histories, moral essays, and pious poetical effusions, all 
placed in the order of time, or as they may serve for the purpose of mutual illustration. On 
taking a glance at the contents, the principal subject of narration is the history of the Jews, com- 
mencing with an account of the creation of the world, and tracing their history, genealogically, 
through a series of striking vicissitudes and changes of situation. But when we examine the 
narratives minutely, it is found that there is another meaning than that of mere historical 
elucidation. It is perceived that the whole train of events recorded, the whole of those lofty 
impassioned strains of poetry which distinguish the volume, are precursory and prophetic of a 
great change which, at a future period, was to be wrought on the moral properties and fate 
of mankind, by the coming of the Messiah. The authorship of the Old Testament has been 
universally ascribed by both Jews and Christians to God himself, though not by direct com- 
position, but by spiritually influencing the minds of certain sages to accomplish the work, or, 
in ordinary phraseology, by inspiring or endowing them with a perfect knowledge of the 
transactions to be recorded and predicted, in a way suitable to the great end in view. The 
Bible is hence usually termed the Sacred Scriptures. The periods when the act of writing 
all or most part of the Scriptures took place, as well as most of the names of those who were 
instrumental in forming the work, have been ascertained with surprising accuracy, both from 

K 



66 LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 

written evidence in the narratives themselves, and from the well-preserved traditions of the 
Jews. At whatever time the different books were written, they were not collected and put 
into a connected form till long after their immediate authors were deceased; and their present 
arrangement, as we shall afterwards fully explain, is of comparatively modern date. 

According to the order in which the books of the Old Testament now stand, those of an 
historical nature are appropriately placed at the beginning. The first five books, having a 
chain of connection throughout, are — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. 
These are styled the Pentateuch, such being the Greek compound for Five Books. They 
are likewise intitled the Books of Moses, from the belief that that enlightened Jewish leader 
composed them. 

The Jews, or Hebrews, take the name of the sacred books from the first words with which 
each begins ; but the Greeks, whom our translators generally follow, take the names from the 
subject-matter of them. Thus the first book is called by the Hebrews Bereshith, which sig- 
nifies In the beginning, these being the first words ; but the Greeks call it Genesis, which 
signifies Production, because the creation of the world is the first thing of which it gives an 
account. It likewise gives an account of the increase of mankind ; of their corruption of 
manners and the causes of it ; of their punishment by the deluge (an event, which, by sci- 
entific investigation and historical research, is placed beyond a doubt) ; of the origin of 
the Jewish people from Abraham ; of the manner in which God was pleased to have them 
governed ; and, particularly, of the nature of the special superintendence vouchsafed to the 
Jewish nation by the Creator. This comprehensive narrative reaches from the creation of the 
world till the death of Joseph, or a period of 2369 years. 

Exodus, the title of the second book of Moses, signifies, in Greek, The going out, and was 
applied from the account it gives of the going out of the Israelites from Egypt. In it are 
related the cruel Egyptian slavery under which the Jews groaned; their delivery by flight, 
and passage through the Red Sea ; the history of the establishment of their very peculiar 
law, and many remarkable transactions ; concluding with the building of the Tabernacle, or 
place appropriated to the service of the Divinity. This book comprises the history of 1 45 
years, from the death of Joseph till the building of the Tabernacle. The Hebrews call it 
Ve-elle Shemoth, that is, in English, These are the names, which are the words with which it 
begins. 

The third Book of Moses is called Leviticus, because it contains the laws which God com- 
manded should be observed by those of the tribe of Levi, who ministered at the altar. It 
treats at large of all the functions of the Levites ; of the ceremonial of religion ; of the dif- 
ferent sorts of sacrifices ; of the distinction of clean and unclean beasts ; of the different festi- 
vals ; and of the year of jubilee, or continued holiday. It likewise presents us with an account, 
of what happened to the Jews during the space of one month and a half ; that is, from the 
time the Tabernacle was erected, which was the first day of the first month of the second year 
after the Israelites came out of Egypt, till the second month of the same year, when God 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



67 



commanded the people to be numbered. The Hebrews call this book Vayikre, that is, 
That he called, these being the first words; they call it also The Law of the Priests. 

In the fourth book, which we call Numbers, Moses numbers the Israelites, and that, too, 
in the beginning of the book, which shows whence it had its name. The Hebrews call it 
Vay-edabber, that is, And he spake. This book contains the history of all that passed 
from the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, till 
the beginning of the eleventh month of the fortieth year ; that is, it contains the history of 
thirty-nine years, or thereabouts. In it we have also the history of the prophet Balaam, 
whom the king of the Midianites brought to curse the people of God, and who, on the con- 
trary, heaped blessings upon the Israelites, and foretold the coming of the Messiah. It par- 
ticularly mentions the two and forty encampments of the Israelites in the wilderness. 

The fifth book is called Deuteronomy, a Greek term, which signifies The second Law, or, 
rather, The repetition of the Law, because it does not contain a law different from that which 
was given on Mount Sinai ; but it repeats the same law, for the sake of the children of those 
who had received it there, and were since dead in the wilderness. The Hebrews call it Elle- 
hadde-barim, that is, These are the words. Deuteronomy begins with a short account of what 
had passed in the wilderness, and then Moses repeats what he had before commanded, in 
Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers ; and admonishes the people to be careful and faithful in 
keeping the commandments of God, if they would continue under his Divine protection, and 
predicting the fearful consequences attendant upon their non-observance of his Holy Law. 
After this, he relates what had happened from the beginning of the eleventh month, to the 
seventh day of the twelfth month of the same year, which was the fortieth after their leaving 
Egypt. The discourse, which is at the beginning of this book, was made to the people by 
Moses, on the first day of the eleventh month. Josephus states that Moses died on the first 
day of the twelfth month ; and the Israelites, as the Scripture informs us, mourned for him in 
the plains of Moab thirty days ; and, consequently, during the whole of the twelfth month. 

The Jews call the Pentateuch The Law, without doubt because the law of God, which 
Moses received on Mount Sinai, is the principal part of it ; and it is as little to be doubted 
whether that great man was the writer of the Pentateuch. This is expressly declared both 
in Exodus and Deuteronomy. But as an account of the death of Moses is given in the last 
eight verses of this book, it is therefore thought that these verses were added either by Joshua 
or Ezra. The opinion of Josephus concerning them is very singular : he pretends that Moses, 
finding his death approaching, and being willing to prevent an error into which the veneration 
the people had for him might cause the Jews to fall, wrote this account himself ; without 
which the Jews would probably have supposed that God had taken him away, like Enoch. 

These five books embrace a period of 2553 years, and bring down the history of the world 
to the year before the birth of Christ 1451. 

After the death of Moses, Joshua, by the order of the Divine Being, took upon himself the 
conducting of the Hebrews, and succeeded Moses, to whom he had been a faithful servant, and 

K 2 



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LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



by whom he had been instructed in what he ought to do. It is uncertain whether the book 
which contains the history of this successor of Moses be called Joshua, from the subject of it, 
or from his having been the writer of it. But it is certain that it contains an account of what 
passed from the death of Moses to that of Joshua. Nevertheless, there are several things in 
it which did not come to pass till after the death of this great man, and which, consequently, 
have been added by some later writer. The common opinion as to the length of time it con- 
tains is, that Joshua discharged his office only for seventeen years, and that, therefore, this 
book contains no more than the history of that number of years. 

After the death of Joshua, the Israelites were governed by magistrates, who ruled under 
the general designation of Judges ; and the book which contains the history of these rulers is 
called The Book of Judges. This history begins with the death of Joshua, and reaches to 
that of Samson. We here see the Hebrew people often enslaved in punishment of their crimes, 
and as often wonderfully delivered from slavery. Towards the end of it, we have some 
instances of this people's inclination to idolatry, and of their manners, even before they had 
been brought into slavery. Such are the histories of Micah, and of the Benjaminites who 
abused the Levite's concubine. This book contains the history of 370 years. 

During the time of the government of Judges, there was a great famine in the land of 
Israel, which forced Elimelech, a native of Bethlehem, to retire into the land of Moab, with 
his wife Naomi and two children. Elimelech died there, as also his two sons, who had mar- 
ried two Moabitish women, one of whom was named Ruth. Naomi, after the death of her 
husband and her children, returned to Bethlehem, accompanied by Ruth, her daughter-in-law, 
who was there married to Boaz, Elimelech's near relation, and the heir to his estate. This 
book is a kind of supplement to that of the Judges ; the beginning of it shows that it hap- 
pened in the time of the Judges, but under which of them is not certainly known : some place 
it in the time of Shamgar ; others in that of Deborah. It receives its name from the person 
whose history makes the most considerable figure in it, and concludes with the genealogy of 
David, in order to show the pedigree of the Messiah, who was to descend from the Royal 
Psalmist. As to the writer of this book, some think that the books of Judges and Ruth were 
both written by Samuel ; others attribute them to Hezekiah, and others to Ruth. The Jews 
place the book of Ruth among the five books, which they usually read on all the festivals in 
the year : which are the Song of Songs, Ruth, the Lamentations of J eremiah, Ecclesiastes, 
and the book of Esther. In the Hebrew Bibles they are printed or written apart by them- 
selves, and are bound up together. 

The four books following Ruth are called by the Greeks, and also in some Latin Bibles, 
The History of the Reigns. Others call them all The Books of Kings, because they give an 
account of the establishment of the monarchy, and of the succession of the kings who reigned 
over the whole kingdom at first, and over the kingdoms of Judah and Israel after its division. 
At the beginning of those books is given the history of the prophet Samuel, which gives light 
to that of The Kings. The Jews call the two first of these books The Books of Samuel ; 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



69 



perhaps because they contain the history of the two kings who were both anointed by Samuel ; 
and because what is said of Saul in the first, and of David in the second, proves the truth of 
Samuel's prophecies. They give the name of The Books of Kings only to the other two, 
which, in the Latin and French Bibles, are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. 

The First Book of Kings, or the First of Samuel, contains the history of the high priest 
Eli, of Samuel, and of Saul. As the first year of Eli's high-priesthood falls on the year of the 
world 2848, and the death of Saul in 2949, the history of this book must comprehend the 
space of 101 years. 

The Second contains the reign of David, which is the history of about forty years. It is 
commonly believed that Samuel, Nathan, and Gad were the writers of these two books ; and, 
indeed, they are called, in the end of the first book of Chronicles, David's Historians. . 

The Third, or, according to the Hebrews, The First Book of Kings, begins with a relation 
of the manner in which Solomon came to the throne, and contains the whole of his reign. 
After that, an account follows of the division of the kingdom, and the history of four kings of 
Judah and eight kings of Israel. All these reigns, including that of Solomon, which occu- 
pies the first forty years, comprise the space of 126 years. 

The Fourth of these books contains the history of twelve kings of Israel and sixteen kings of 
Judah. It likewise gives an account of the prophets who lived during the time of 308 years. 
It is quite uncertain who were the writers of the two last books. They are by some attributed 
to Jeremiah or Ezra, but no very convincing proofs have been adduced in support of this 
opinion. It is evident, indeed, that these books form a varied collection of several particular 
histories. 

The name of Paralipomena, which, in Greek, signifies The history of things omitted, is 
given to the two books which follow those of The Kings. These form, in fact, a supplement, 
containing what had been omitted in the Pentateuch, and the books of Joshua, Judges, and 
Kings, or, rather, they contain a fuller description of some things which had been therein only 
briefly related. Some give them the name of Chronicles, because they are very exact in 
mentioning the time when every transaction happened. We divide them into two books, as do 
also the Jews, who call them Dibere Hayamim, that is, an Historical Journal, the matters of 
which they treat having been taken from the journals of the kings. In the original language, 
however, the word days often signify the year ; and, in this sense, we may understand the term to 
signify properly annals. Dr. Prideaux is decidedly of opinion that Ezra was the writer of- 
these. In the First book, he begins with a succinct historical abridgement, from the creation 
of Adam to the return of the Jews from their captivity ; and then he resumes the history of 
David, and carries it on to the consecration of Solomon, that is down to the year B.C. 1015. 
The history contained in the Second Book reaches down to the year B.C. 536, when, upon the 
expiration of the 70 years of the captivity, Cyrus gave the Jews leave to return to their own 
country. 

Ezra wrote the history of the return of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon in Judea. 
* 



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LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



It is the history of about eighty-two years, from the year of the world 3468, when Cyrus became 
master of the eastern empire, by the death of his father, Cambyses, in Persia, and his father- 
in-law, Cyaxares, in Media, to the year 3550, which was the twentieth year of the reign of 
Artaxerxes, surnamed Longimanus. This book bears the name of Ezra, who was the writer of it. 

The next book is a continuation of that of Ezra, and, therefore, it is by some called The 
Second Book of Ezra. It was Nehemiah, however, whose name it also bears, who wrote it, 
as is said, by the advice of Ezra. It contains the account of the re-establishment of Jeru- 
salem, and of the temple, and the worship of God. It is the history of about thirty-one years ; 
that is to say, from the twentieth year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, to the reign of Darius Nothus, 
his son, which began in the year of the world 3581. 

After this general history of the Jews, follow two histories of particular persons, viz. : — 
Esther and Job. The first contains the account of a miraculous deliverance of the Jews, 
which was accomplished by means of the heroine named Esther. The Scripture saith it hap- 
pened under the reign of Ahasuerus, King of Persia ; but, as there have been several Persian 
kings of that name, it is not exactly known in which reign it is to be dated. Dr. Lightfoot 
thinks it was that Artaxerxes who hindered the building of the Temple, and who, in the 
Book of Ezra, is called Ahasuerus, after his great grandfather the King of the Medes. 

The history of Job, which is next in order, is not only a narration of his actions, but con- 
tains also the entire discourses which this pious man had with his wife and friends, and is, 
indeed, one of the most eloquent books in the Holy Scriptures. It has been generally con- 
jectured that Moses was the writer or compiler of this book, but this is very uncertain. 

Next to the Historical books of Scripture, follow those of a moral nature. The first of 
these is the Book of Psalms, which are likewise historical ; for they recite the miracles which 
God wrought, and contain, as it were, an abridgment of all that had been done for the 
Israelites, and that had happened to them. The Hebrews call them " The Book of Praises" 
by which they mean " of the praises of God." The word Psalm is Greek, and properly 
signifies the sound of a stringed instrument of music. The Hebrews sung the Psalms with 
different instruments. We make but one book of them all, but the Jews divided them into 
five parts, which all end with the words Amen, Amen. Though the Psalms bear the name 
of David, yet they were not all composed by him ; some of them are more ancient, and others 
are of a later date than his time ; some of them being ascribed to Moses, Samuel, and Ezra. 
Speaking of the dedication of the second Temple, Dr. Prideaux says — " In this dedication 
the 146th, the 147th, and the 148th Psalms seem to have been sung ; for, in the Septuagint 
versions, they are styled the Psalms of ' Haggai and Zechariah^ as if they had been com- 
posed by them for this occasion ; and this, no doubt, was from some ancient tradition ; but, in 
the original Hebrew, these Psalms have no such title prefixed to them, neither have they any 
other to contradict it." It is not probable, however, that all those whose names they bear 
were the true authors of them ; it is more likely that these are only the names of those to 
whom they were first given to sing. 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



71 



After the Psalms are " The Proverbs" (said to be of Solomon,) which are a collection of 
moral sentences. This name is given them by the Greeks, but the Hebrews call them Misle, 
that is, Parables or Comparisons ; and the word may also signify sentences or maxims. It 
is a collection of divine precepts, proper for every age and every condition of life. 

The book which follows is also a moral one, composed by Solomon, and called by the 
Greeks Ecclesiastes ; which answers to the name of Koheleth, which it bears in the Hebrew. 
Both of these words signify, in our language, " A Preacher," or, " one who speaks in an as- 
sembly.'" In this book is given an admirable picture of the vanity of the world. 

Among the moral books is reckoned the Song of Songs ; that is to say, according to the 
Jewish manner of speaking, a most excellent song. This book has no morality in it : there 
is not one moral nor religious maxim in it, and the name of God is not so much as men- 
tioned in it, except once in the original Hebrew, where it is used adjectively. The morality 
which this love-song contains was of such a nature, that, according to St. Jerome, the Jews 
.were not permitted to read it till they were thirty years of age. According to the same au- 
thority, the chapters in the beginning of the Book of Genesis were interdicted to the younger 
Israelites. 

In regard to the Prophets, it may be observed, that all the Old Testament is considered to 
be in substance one continued prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ; so that all the books 
of which it consists are understood to be in some sense Prophetical. But this name is more 
especially given to those books which were written by persons who had a clearer knowledge of 
futurity, who forewarned both kings and people of what would happen to them ; and who, at 
the s»me time, pointed out what the Messiah was to do, whom they, who are acknowledged to 
have been Prophets, had always in view ; and this is what ought most particularly to be taken 
notice of in their writings. 

The Prophecies bear the names of those to whom they belong. Some learned men are of 
opinion, that the prophets made abridgments of the discourses which they had written, and 
fixed them up at the gates of the Temple, that all the people might read them ; and that, 
after this, the ministers of the Temple might take them away and place them among the 
Archives, which is the reason why we have not. the Prophecies in the order in which they were 
written. But the interpreters of Scripture have long since laboured to restore that order ac- 
cording to the course of their history. 

The works of the Prophets are divided into two parts, the first of which contains the Greater 
and the, second the Lesser Prophets. This distinction, of course, does not at all apply to the 
persons of the prophets, but only to the bulk of their works. The Greater Prophets are 
Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah. The Lamentations of Jeremiah make a separate 
book by themselves, containing that prophet's descriptions of the destruction of the city of 
Jerusalem, and of the captivity of the people. The Lesser Prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, 
Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. 
They were formerly contained in one single volume, which the Hebrews call Thereaser, which 
means Twelve, or The Book of the Tioelve. 



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LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



The dates of many of the prophecies are uncertain, but the earliest of them was in the days 
of Uzziah, King of Judah, and Jeroboam the Second, his contemporary, King of Israel, 
about 200 years before the captivity, and not long after Joash had slain Zechariah, the son of 
Jehoiada, in the court of the Temple. Hosea was the first of the writing Prophets, and 
Joel, Amos, and Obadiah published their prophecies about the same time. 

Isaiah began his remarkable prophecies a short time afterwards, but his book is placed first, 
because it is the largest of them all, and is more explicit relative to the Advent of Christ than 
any of the others. The language of this eminent writer is exceedingly sublime and affecting ; 
so much so, that it has never been equalled by any profane poet, either in ancient or modern 
times. It is impossible to read some of the chapters without being struck by the force of the 
prophetic allusions to the character and sufferings of the Messiah ; and, in consequence of 
these prevailing characteristics, the author is ordinarily styled the Evangelical Prophet, and 
by some of the ancients, " A Fifth Evangelist." The Jews say, that the spirit of prophecy 
continued forty years during the second Temple. And Malachi they call the Seal of Pro- 
phecy, because in him the succession or series of prophets broke off, and came to a period. 
The Book of Malachi, therefore, appropriately closes the sacred record of the Old Testament. 



OF THE TESTAMENT. 

The second and lesser division of the Bible relates entirely to the Christian religion, the 
fulfilment of those matters which were predicted in the former and more ancient department of 
the work. This division of the Sacred Scriptures is generally styled the New Testament; and 
that portion of it which relates to the history of the life of Christ is called the Gospel, and by 
some the Evangel, both these words having the same meaning, and implying good news, or 
glad tidings, from the circumstance that the narratives contain an account of things necessary 
to the salvation of the souls of mankind. 

The New Testament, like the Old, is a compilation of books, written by different inspired 
individuals, and all put together in such a manner as to exhibit a regular account of the birth, 
actions, and death of Christ ; the doctrines he promulgated ; and the prophecies regarding 
the future state of the Church which he founded. The historical books are the four Gospels 
and the Acts of the Apostles, all these being of the character of narratives and events ; the 
doctrinal are the Epistles of St. Paul, and some others ; the, prophetic book is the last, and is 
called the Revelation, or Apocalypse of St. John, the same having been written by that 
Apostle while he was in the island of Patmos. 

The writers of the New Testament are well known, each book having the name of the 
author affixed to it, with the exception of the Acts of the Apostles, which, it is presumed, was 
compiled by St. Luke. It was long disputed whether St. Paul was the writer of the Epistle 
to the Hebrews ; Tertullian, an ancient Christian writer, and some others, attribute it to St. 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



73 



Barnabas ; others to St. Luke ; and others to St. Clement ; while some think, and with greater 
probability, that St. Paul dictated it, and St. Luke was his amanuensis ; and that the true 
reason why the name of the true author was not affixed to it, was, because he was disliked by 
the Jews. The four Evangelists, or writers of the leading narratives, are St. Matthew, St. 
Mark, St. Luke, and St. John, they having been companions to Ch rist during his ministrations, 
and, therefore, personally acquainted with his life and character. Each of the four Books is 
principally a repetition of the history of our Saviour, yet they all possess a difference of style, 
and each mentions some circumstances omitted by the others, so that the whole is essential in 
making up a complete life of the Messiah. These distinctions in the tone of the narratives, 
and other peculiarities, are always considered as strong circumstantial evidence in proof of their 
authenticity, and of there having been no collusion on the part of the writers. But, indeed, 
the events they record are detailed in so exceedingly simple and unaffected a manner, that it is 
impossible to suppose that they were written with a view to impose upon the credulity of 
mankind. " The veracity and actual belief of the Evangelists themselves are placed beyond a 
doubt. 

The first book was written by St. Matthew, who was by birth a Jew, and exercised the 
profession of a publican ; that is, a collector of the public tax or assessment imposed upon the 
Jewish people by their conquerors, the Romans. Matthew, who was also called by the name 
of Levi, was one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, and he is said to have written his narrative 
about eight years after the departure of his Divine Master from the earth. Many of the an- 
cients say that he wrote it in the Hebrew, or Syriac, language ; but Dr. Whitby is clearly 
of opinion that this tradition is entirely void of foundation, and that it was doubtless written 
in Greek, as the other parts of the New Testament were. Yet it is probable that there might 
be an edition of it in Hebrew published by St. Matthew himself, at the same time that he 
wrote it in Greek ; the former for the Jews, the latter for the Gentiles, when he left Judea 
to preach among the heathen. 

With regard to Mark, the writer of the second Gospel, it may be observed that, although 
Mark or Marcus was a Roman name, and a very common one, yet we have no reason to sup- 
pose but that he was by birth a Jew, but as Saul, when he went among the Gentiles, took the 
name of Paul, so did this Evangelist, take that of Mark, his Jewish name, perhaps, being 
Mardacai, as Grotius observes ; Jerome and Tertullian state that he was a disciple of the 
Apostle Peter, and his interpreter or amanuensis. We have every reason to believe that both 
he and Luke were of the number of the seventy disciples who companied all along with the 
apostles, and who had a commission like to theirs, so that it was no diminution at all to the 
validity or value of this Gospel that Mark was not one of the Twelve, as Matthew and John 
were. Jerome says, that, after the writing of this Gospel, he went into Egypt, and was the 
first that preached the Gospel at Alexandria, where he founded a church, to which he was an 
example of holy living. 

The Gospel of St. Mark is much shorter than that of St. Matthew, not giving so full an 

L 



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account of Christ's sermons as that did, but insisting chiefly on his miracles ; and in regard 
to these also, it is very much a repetition of what we had in Matthew, many remarkable cir- 
cumstances being added to the subjects there related, but not many new matters. There is a 
tradition that it was first written in Latin, because it was written at Rome ; but this is gene- 
rally thought to be without foundation, and that it was written in Greek, as was St. Paul's 
Epistle to the Romans, the Greek being the more universal language. 

Luke, the name of the third Evangelist, is considered by some to be a contraction of Luci- 
litts ; and he is said, by St. Jerome, to have been born at Antioch. Some think that, he was 
the only one of all the penmen of the Scriptures that was not of the Israelites ; that he was a 
Jewish proselyte, and was converted to Christianity by the ministry of St. Paul at Antioch, 
and after his coming into Macedonia he was his constant companion. He had employed 
himself in the study and practice of physic ; and hence Paul calls him Luke the beloved Phy- 
sician. It is more than probable, however, as is testified both by Origen and Epiphanius, 
that he was one of the seventy disciples, and a follower of Christ when he was upon earth ; 
and, if so, he was most likely to be a native Israelite. Luke, most probably, wrote his 
Gospel at Rome, a little before he wrote his history of the " Acts of the Apostles," which is 
a continuation of the former, when he was there with Paul, while he was a prisoner, and 
preaching in his own hired house, with which account the history of the Acts concludes. 

In this case, it must have been written about twenty-seven years after the resurrection and 
ascension of our Saviour, and about the fourth year of the reign of Nero. Jerome says that 
Luke died when he was eighty-four years old, and that lie was never married. Dr. Cave 
observes, that " his way and manner of writing are accurate and exact, his style polite and 
elegant ; sublime and lofty, yet perspicuous ; and that he expresses himself in a vein of purer 
Greek than is to be found in the other writers of this holy history.'' Thus he relates several 
things more copiously than the other Evangelists, and thus he especially treats of those things 
which relate to the priestly office of Christ. 

John, the fourth Evangelist, was one of the sons of Zebedee, a fisherman of Galilee, the 
brother of James, one of the twelve Apostles, and distinguished by the honourable appellation 
of " that disciple whom Jesus loved." The ancients tell us that John lived longest of all 
the Apostles, and was the only one of them that died a natural death, all the rest suffering 
martyrdom ; and some of them say that he wrote this Gospel at Ephesus, at the request of 
the ministers of the several churches of Asia, in order to combat certain heresies. It seems 
most probable that he composed it before his banishment into the Isle of Patmos, for there he 
wrote his Revelation, the close of which seems designed for the closing up of the canon of 
Scripture ; in which case this Gospel could not have been written after. It is clear that he 
wrote last of the four Evangelists, and comparing his Gospel with theirs, we may observe that 
he relates what they had omitted, and thus gleans up what they had passed by. 

These four Gospels were early and constantly received by the primitive Church, and read 
in Christian assemblies, as appears by the writings of Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, who lived 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



75 



little more than 100 years after the origin of Christianity ; they declared that neither more, 
nor fewer, than four were received by the Church. A harmony of these four Evangelists was 
compiled by Tatian about that time, which he called " The Gospel out of Four."'' In the 
third and fourth centuries, there were gospels forged by divers sects, and published, one 
under the name of St. Peter, another of St. Thomas, another of St. Philip, &c. But they were 
never owned by the Church, nor was any credit given to them, as the learned Dr. Whitby 
shows. And he gives this good reason why we should adhere to these written records, " Be- 
cause," says he, " whatever the pretences of tradition may be, it is not sufficient to preserve 
things with any certainty, as appears by experience. For whereas Christ said and did many 
memorable things, which were not written, tradition has not preserved any one of them to us, 
but all is lost except what was written ; and that, therefore, is what we must abide by." 

After the Gospel, or History of Jesus Christ, follows the history of what passed after his 
ascension, and was transacted by the Apostles. The book, therefore, which contains this his- 
tory is called " The Acts of the Apostles.'" It is a history of the rising church for about the 
space of thirty years. It was written, as has been already observed, by St. Luke the Evange- 
list. In the end of the book he mentions particularly his being with St. Paul in his dangerous 
voyage to Rome, when he was carried thither a prisoner ; and it is evident that he was with 
him, when, from his prison there, Paul wrote his epistles to the Colossians and Philemon, 
for in both of these he is named by Paul. 

Next to this come the Epistles of St. Paul, which are fourteen in number; one, to the 
Romans, which is placed first, not because of the priority of its date ; (it having been written 
in a.d. 56, from Corinth, while Paul made a short stay there in his way to Troas, when he 
was on his way to Jerusalem with the money that had been given to the poor saints there, as 
we read in the 15th chapter of the epistle ;) but on account of its superlative excellence, it being 
one of the longest and fullest of all, and perhaps, also, on account of the dignity of the place 
to which it is written : then follows two Epistles to the Corinthians, in a.d. 57 ; one to the 
Galatians, in a.d. 56 ; one to the Ephesians, in a.d. 63 ; one to the Philippians, a.d. 62 ; one 
to the Colossians, in a.d. 62; two to the Thessalonians, in a.d. 51 and 52; two to Timothy 
in a.d. 64 ; one to Titus, in a.d. 65 ; one to Philemon, in a.d. 62 ; and one to the Hebrews, 
in a.d. 62 ; from which chronology it appears that, the Epistles of St. Paul are placed in the 
New Testament, rather according to the dignity of the cities to which they were sent, than 
according to the order of time in which they were written, for the Epistles to the Thessalonians 
were those he wrote first, though that to the Romans is placed before them. Interpreters are 
agreed that the last Epistle which he wrote was the second to Timothy. 

These Epistles contain that part of the ecclesiastical history which immediately follows after 
what is related in " The Acts," the principal matter contained in them being the establishment 
or confirmation of the doctrine which our Saviour taught his disciples. According as the 
difficulties which raised disputes among the Christians, or the heresies which sprung up in the 
Church from the first age of it, required, St. Paul, in these Epistles clears up and proves all 

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matters of faith, and gives excellent rules for morality. His Epistles may be considered as a 
commentary on, or an interpretation of, the four Books of the Gospel. 

St. Paul wrote to the churches of some particular places, or to some particular persons ; but 
the other Epistles which follow his are called Catholic, because, with the exception of the 
second and third of St. John, they were not addressed to any particular church, or individual, 
as his were, but to the whole Church in general. These are, one of St. James; two of St. 
Peter ; three of St. John ; and one of St. Jude. The dates of most of these Epistles are 
extremely uncertain, but the most generally received chronology of them is as follows : viz., 
that of St. James, a.d. 61 ; of St. Peter, a.d. 66 and 67; of St. John, a d. 80 and 90; of St. 
Jude, a.d. 66. 

It has sometimes occurred to the minds of many well-disposed persons, that it would have 
been better for Christianity had there never been any other record of its origin and doctrines 
than the writings of St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. But however plain and 
satisfactory the histories of these Evangelists may be, and however little they admit of contro- 
versy, it must be remembered that it required the strong arguments and illustrations brought 
forward in the Epistles by Paul and others, to combat the sophistry of the Greeks, and the 
self-sufficient philosophies of other races of men. Paul, the chief of the Epistle writers, 
who became a Christian by conversion, after Christ's ascension, is the great champion of the 
faith, and exposes, in strong and dauntless language, the hidden depravities of the human 
heart, so that where the affecting discourses and sufferings of the Messiah fail to convert and 
to convince, the reasoning of this great writer is admirably calculated to silence and subdue 
those who stubbornly resist the benignant influence of the Christian faith. 



OF THE APOCRYPHA. 

Having given an account of the origin and literary characteristics of the usually accepted 
and accredited books composing the Old and New Testament, we now proceed to offer a few 
details relative to those books styled the Apocrypha, a branch of the subject possessed of 
considerable interest, of which we shall treat with the same measure of impartiality. 

The term Apocrypha is Greek, signifying hidden or concealed, and is used to designate a 
number of books, often placed between the Old and New Testament, or otherwise bound up 
with them. Some writers divide the sacred books into three classes, viz., the Canonical, the 
Ecclesiastical, and the Apocryphal. In the first they place those whose authority has never 
been questioned in the Catholic, or Universal Church ; in the second, those which were not 
received at first, but which were, nevertheless, read in the public assemblies, as books which 
were useful, though they never placed them upon the same footing of authority as the former ; 
and in the third, they placed the books which were of no authority, which could not be made 
to appear in public, but were kept hidden, and were, therefore, called Apocryphal, that is, 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



77 



concealed, or such as could not be used in public. " Let us lay aside those books which have 
been called Apocryphal" saith St. Augustine, " because their authors were not known to our 
fathers, who have, by a constant and certain succession, transmitted down to us the authority 
and truth of the Holy Scriptures. Though some things in these Apocryphal books are true, 
yet as there are in them multitudes of others which are false, they are of no authority." 

The Apocryjjha consists of fourteen books,, viz.. First and Second of Esdras, Tobit, Judith, 
the rest of the chapters of the Book of Esther, The Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, 
The Song of the Three Holy Children, The History of Susanna, The Story of Bel and the 
Dragon, The Prayer of Manasses, and the First and Second Book of the Maccabees. Every 
attentive reader must perceive that these books want the majesty of inspired Scripture, and that 
there are in them a variety of things wicked, false, and disagreeing with the oracles of God. 
None of them were ever found in the proper Hebrew tongue, and they were never received into 
the canon of Scripture by the Jews, to whom the oracles of God were originally committed. 
They were partly read in private by the ancient Christians as useful ; but. they did not admit 
them into the canon of Scripture. None of them are found in the catalogue of canonical 
books by Melita, Bishop of Sardis, in the second century ; nor does Origen in the third, or 
Epiphanius in the fourth, in the least acknowledge their authenticity. One or two of the writers 
of them also ask pardon if they have said anything amiss, which clearly shows that they were 
not inspired, or at least did not consider themselves to be so ; and, therefore, these books can 
by no means be considered as having a title to form part of the word of God. A very simple 
analysis of the books themselves will be sufficient to demonstrate this to every attentive mind. 

1st. It is not known at what time the First Book of Esdras was written, neither is it known 
who was the author of it; but Dr. Prideaux considers it certain that he wrote before the time 
of Josephus. It was originally to be found only in Greek, and in the Alexandrian MS. it is 
placed before the canonical Book of Ezra, and is there called The First Book of Ezra, because 
the events related in it occurred prior to the return from the Babylonish captivity. In some 
editions of the Septuagint it is called the First Book of the Priest, (meaning Ezra,) the authentic 
Book of Ezra being called the Second Book. In the editions of the Latin Vulgate, previous to 
the Council of Trent, this and the following book are styled the Third and Fourth Books of 
Esdras, those of Ezra and Nehemiah being entitled the First and Second Books. This book is 
chiefly historical, giving an account of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, the 
building of the Temple, and the re- establishment of Divine worship. It is, in fact, nothing but 
a bad extract of the two la?t chapters of Chronicles and the Book of Ezra ; and, in a great 
many instances, it even contradicts these. The author falsely makes Zerobabel a young man 
in the days of Darius Hystaspes, and Joakim to be his son ; whereas he was the son of Joshua 
the High Priest. He calls Darius " king of Assyria" long after that empire was utterly dis- 
solved ; and makes some things done under Darius which were done under Cyrus. 

2nd. The author of the Second Book of Esdras is also unknown. It is supposed to have 
been written, originally, in Greek, though the original of it has never been found but in Latin ; 



78 LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 

and there is an Arabic version, differing very materially from it, and having many interpolations. 
Although the writer personates Ezra, it is manifest, from the style and contents of his book, 
that he lived long after that celebrated Jewish reformer. He pretends to visions and revelations, 
but they are so fanciful, indigested, absurd, and ridiculous, that it is clear the Holy Spirit could 
have no concern in the dictating of them. He believed that the day of judgment was at 
hand, and that the souls of good and wicked men would all be then delivered out of hell. A 
great many rabbinical fables occur in this book, particularly the account of the six days' crea- 
tion, and the story of Behemoth, or Enoch, as it is here called, and Leviathan — a monstrous 
creature that is designed as a feast for the elect at such time as may please the Lord. He 
says that the ten tribes are gone away into a country called Arsareth, and that Ezra restored 
the whole of the Scriptures which had been entirely lost. He also speaks of Jesus Christ 
and his Apostles in so clear a manner, that the Gospel itself is scarcely more explicit. On 
these accounts, and from the numerous traces of the language of the New Testament, and 
especially of the Revelation of St. John, which are discoverable in this book, several critics 
have concluded that it was written about the close of the first century, by some converted Jew, 
who had assumed the name of Esdras, or Ezra. 

3rd. The Book of Tobit, from the simplicity of the narrative and the lessons of piety and 
meekness which it contains, has been always one of the most popular of the apocryphal writings. 
It was first written in Chaldee by some Babylonian Jew, but there is no authentic information 
as to his name, or the time when he flourished. It professes to relate the history of Tobit and 
his family, who were carried into captivity to Nineveh by Shalmaneser ; being first begun by 
Tobit, then continued by his son Tobias, and, lastly, finished by some other of the family, and 
afterward digested into that form in which we now have it. The time of this history ends with 
the destruction of Nineveh, about 610 years B.C. ; but most commentators and critics agree in 
thinking that the book itself was not written till about 150 or 200 years B.C. It has generally 
been looked upon, both by Jews and Christians, as a genuine and true history ; but it contains 
so many rabbinical fictions and allusions to the Babylonian demonology, that it is much more 
rational to suppose the whole book an entire fable. It is not probable that, in the time o 
Sennacherib and Esarhaddon, the father should live, as is here said, 158 years, and the son 127. 
It is certain no Angel of God could falsely call himself Azarias, the Son of Ananias, as this 
writer affirms. The story of Sarah's seven husbands being successively killed on their marriage- 
night, by an evil spirit, and of that spirit being driven away by the smell and smoke of the 
roasted heart and liver of a fish, and bound in the uttermost parts of Egypt, or of the Angel 
Raphael's presenting to God the prayers of the saints, with other matters evidently fabulous, 
are quite sufficient to justify the rejecting of this book entirely from the sacred canon, upon the 
score of internal evidence alone. 

4th. The Book of Judith professes to relate the defeat of the Assyrians by the Jews, through 
the instrumentality of their countrywoman of this name, who craftily cut off the head of Holo- 
fernes, the Assyrian general. This book was originally written in Chaldee by some Jew of 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



79 



Babylon, and was thence translated by St. Jerome into the Latin tongue. Dr. Prideaux refers 
this history to the time of Manasseh, king of Judah ; Jahn assigns it to the age of the Mac- 
cabees, and thinks it was written to animate the Jews against the Assyrians ; but so many 
geographical, historical, and chronological difficulties attend this book, that Luther, Grotius, 
and other eminent critics have considered it rather as a drama, or parable, than a real history. 
It has been received into the canon of Scripture by some as being all true ; but, on the other 
hand, it is the opinion of Grotius that it is entirely a parabolical fiction, written in the time of 
Antiochus Epiphanes, when he came into Judea to raise a persecution against the Jewish 
church, and that the design of it was to confirm the Jews under that persecution, in their hope 
that God would send a deliverer. According to Grotius, by Judith is meant Judea, which at 
the time of this persecution was like a desolate widow ; that her sword means the prayers of the 
true worshippers ; that by Bethulia, the name of the town which was attacked, is meant the 
Temple, or the House of the Lord, which is called in Hebrew Bethel. Nabuchodonosor 
denotes the devil, and the kingdom of Assyria the devil's kingdom, pride. Holofernes, whose 
name signifies a minister of the serpent, means Antiochus Epiphanes, who was the devil's 
instrument in that persecution, &c, &c. It is plain that, in this way, by means of a little inge- 
nuity, any construction may be made on any assertion ; and such conjectures as these, as an 
able commentator remarks, however ingenious, are better calculated to exhibit the powers of 
fancy and the abuse of learning, than to investigate truth, or throw light on what is uncer- 
tain and obscure. 

5th. " The rest of the chapters of the Book of Esther, which are found neither in the 
Hebrew nor in the Chaldee,'' were originally written in Greek, whence they were translated 
into Latin, and formed part of the Italic or old Latin version in use before the time of Jerome. 
Being there annexed to the canonical book of Esther, they passed without censure, but were 
rejected by St. Jerome in his version, because he confined himself to the Hebrew Scriptures, 
and these chapters never were extant in the Hebrew language. They are evidently the pro- 
duction of a Hellenistic Jew, but are considered both by Jerome and Grotius as a work of 
pure fiction, which was annexed to the canonical book by way of embellishment. From the 
coincidence between some of these apocryphal chapters and Josephus, it has beens upposed that 
they are a compilation from the Jewish historian ; and this conjecture is further confirmed by 
the mention of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, who lived but a short time before Josephus. These 
additions to the Book of Esther are often cited by the Fathers of the Church, and the Council 
of Trent has assigned them a place among the canonical books. (See Home's Introduction 
to the Scriptures, vol. iv. p. 229.) 

The author of these apocryphal chapters says many things that are in duvet contradiction 
to the inspired historian ; as, when he affirms that the attempt made oy tne eunuchs to take 
away the life of Ahasuerus was in the second year of his reign ; that Mordecai was at the very 
time rewarded for his discovery ; that Haman had been advanced before this event, and was 
provoked with Mordecai for his discovery of the eunuchs ; that Haman was a Macedonian, and 



80 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



intended to transfer the government of Persia to the Macedonians. He very incautiously, also, 
represents Ahasuerus looking upon Esther as a fierce lion, and yet with a countenance full of 
grace ! and as calling the Jews the children of the Most High and most mighty living God; 
and as ordering the heathen to keep the feast of Purim. 

6th. The book of " The Wisdom of Solomon'' was never written by that monarch, as its 
author falsely pretends, for it was never extant in Hebrew, nor received into the Jewish canon 
of Scripture, nor is the style like that of Solomon. It consists of two parts : the first, which is 
written in the name of Solomon, contains a description or encomium of wisdom, by which com- 
prehensive term the ancient Jews understood prudence and foresight, knowledge and under- 
standing, and, especially, the duties of religion and morality. This division includes the first 
ten chapters. The second part, comprising the rest of the book, treats of a variety of topics 
widely differing from the subjects of the first, viz., reflections on the history and conduct of the 
Israelites during their journeyings in the wilderness and their subsequent proneness to idolatry. 
Hence the author takes occasion to inveigh against idolatry, the origin of which he investigates, 
and concludes with reflections on the history of the people of God. His allegorical interpreta- 
tions of the Pentateuch, and the precept which he gives to worship God before the rising of 
the sun, have induced some critics to think that the author was of the Jewish sect called 
Essenes. 

Although the Fathers of the Church, and particularly St. Jerome, uniformly considered this 
book as apocryphal, yet they recommended the perusal of it in respect to the excellency of its 
style. The third Council of Carthage, held in the year 397, pronounced it to be a canonical 
book, under the name of the Fourth Book of Solomon, and the famous Council of Trent con- 
firmed this decision. Jerome informs us that several writers of the first three centuries 
ascribed the authorship of it to Philo the Jew, a native of Alexandria, who flourished in the 
first century ; and this opinion is generally adopted by the moderns, on account of the Platonic 
notions that are discoverable in it, as well as from its general style, which evidently shows that 
it was the production of a Hellenistic Jew of Alexandria. Drusius, indeed, attributes it to 
another Philo, more ancient than the person just mentioned, and who is cited by Josephus ; 
but this hypothesis is untenable, because the author of the Book of Wisdom was confessedly 
either a Jew or a heretical Christian, whereas the Philo mentioned by Drusius was a heathen. 

It is quite evident that this author had read Plato, and the Greek poets ; and he employs a 
great many expressions taken from them, such as Ambrosia, the river of forgetfulness ; the 
kingdom of Pluto, &c; as also several words borrowed from the Grecian games, which were 
not in use till long after the time of Solomon, whose name he assumes. A great many of his 
phrases seem to be taken out of the Prophets, and even from the New Testament. There are 
numerous passages in the book evidently borrowed from the Prophecies of Isaiah and Jere- 
miah ; particularly in the 13th chapter, where there are several verses copied from the 44th 
chapter of Isaiah. 

This author brings forward many things that are contrary both to the words of inspiration 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



81 



and to common sense. He condemns the marriage-bed as sinful, and he also excludes 
bastards from the hopes of salvation : he talks as if souls were lodged in bodies according to 
their former merits ; makes the murder of Abel the cause of the flood ; represents the 
Egyptians as being plagued entirely by their own idols, that is to say, by the beasts which they 
worshipped, though it is certain they never worshipped frogs, locusts, or lice. He also calls 
the divine Logos, or second person of the Trinity, a vapour or steam, with many other things 
that are evidently absurd. 

7th. We now come to the seventh book of the Apocrypha, entitled " The Wisdom of Jesus 
the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus," which like the preceding has sometimes been considered 
as the production of King Solomon ; whence the Council of Carthage deemed it canonical, 
under the title of the Fifth Book of Solomon ; and their decision was adopted by the Council 
of Trent. It is, however, manifest that it was not, and could not be, written by Solomon, 
because in it allusion is made to the captivity ; although it is not improbable that the author 
collected some scattered sentiments ascribed to Solomon, which he arranged with the other 
materials he had selected for his work. Sountag is of opinion that this book is a collection of 
fragments, or miscellaneous hints for a large work, planned out and begun, but not completed. 
From the book itself it appears that it was written by a person of the name of Jesus the son of 
Sirach, who had travelled in pursuit of knowledge. By reading the Scriptures, and other good 
books, he attained a considerable share of wisdom, of which he seemed to be perfectly aware, 
and by collecting the grave and short sentences of such as went before him, and adding sundry 
of his own, he endeavoured to produce a work of instruction that might be useful to his 
countrymen. 

This book was originally written in Hebrew, or rather the Syro-Chaldaic dialect then in use 
in Judea, about the year 232 B.C., when the author was probably about 70 years of age. 
Jesus, his grandson, who is also called The Son of Sirach, translated it into Greek during the 
reign of Ptolemy Evergetes, king of Egypt, about 140 years B.C., for the use of the Hel- 
lenistical Jews, among whom he had settled in Alexandria. The Hebrew original is now lost ; 
but it was extant in the time of Jerome, for he tells us that he had seen it under the title of 
" The Parables ;" but he says that the common name of it in Greek was " The Wisdom of 
Jesus the Son of Sirach.'" The Latin version of this book has more in it than the Greek, 
several particulars being inserted which are not in the other. These seem to have been inter- 
polated by the first author of that version ; but now the Hebrew being lost, the Greek, which 
has been made from it by the grandson of the author, must stand for the original, and from 
that the English translation has been made. From the supposed resemblance of this book to 
that of Ecclesiastes, it has received from the Latin translator the title of Ecclesiasticus, by 
which name it is most generally known and referred to. 

Ecclesiasticus is considered by far the best of all the apocryphal books The ancients 
called it Panareton, that is, The Treasury of Virtue, as supposing it to contain maxims 
leading to every virtue. It has met with general esteem in most of the western churches, and 

M 



82 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



was introduced into the public service of the Church of England by the compilers of its 
Liturgy. It was frequently cited by the Fathers of the Church under the titles of " The 
Wisdom of Jesus," " Wisdom" " The Treasure of all the Virtues" or " Logos, the Dis- 
course ;" and in those times it was put into the hands of catechumens, or young Christians 
under examination, on account of the edifying nature of its instruction. 

The book commences with an exhortation to the pursuit of wisdom : this is followed by 
numerous moral sentences or maxims, arranged somewhat after the manner of the Proverbs of 
Solomon, as far as the forty-fourth chapter, at which the author enters upon a eulogy of the 
patriarchs, prophets, and celebrated men among the Jews, to the end of the fiftieth chapter ; 
and the book concludes with a prayer. The author makes honouring of parents and giving of 
alms to be an atonement for sin ; affirms that some men are, in this world, possessed of sinless 
perfection ; with many other things entirely inconsistent with the doctrines of inspired Scrip- 
ture; and, indeed, this author begs pardon if there should be anything in the book amiss, 
which shows plainly that he was not inspired. 

8th. The Book of " Baruch" is not extant, in Hebrew, and only in Greek and Syriac; but 
in what language it was originally written it is now impossible to ascertain. Grotius is of 
opinion that it is an entire fiction, and that it was composed by some Hellenistical Jew, under 
the name of Baruch. The principal subject of the book is an epistle pretended to be sent by 
Jehoiakim and the captive Jews in Babylon to their brethren in Judah and Jerusalem ; and 
the last chapter contains an epistle which falsely bears the name of Jeremiah. This has never 
been considered as a canonical book, either by the Jews or Christians ; and, indeed, it is little 
else than a romance. It absurdly pretends to have been written by Baruch at Babylon, when 
it is probable he never went thither ; that it was read to Jechoniah at the river Sud, which is 
nowhere else mentioned ; nor could Jechoniah have heard it there, when he was confined in 
prison. It mentions a collection having been made to buy sacrifices by the captives in 
Babylon, and sent to Joakim the Priest along with the sacred vessels which Sedecias (Zede- 
kiah) had made ; but how could the captives, newly enslaved in Babylon, be able to make 
collections ? How could they send it to a high priest that did not then exist ? How could 
the sacred vessels which Zedekiah made be returned from Babylon, when it does not appear 
that he ever made any ? Or how could they be returned before they were carried away, along 
with himself? The author borrows a variety of expressions from Daniel, and must, therefore, 
have lived after Baruch was dead. The epistle ascribed to Jeremiah is neither written in his 
style, nor at all in the style of the Scriptures ; and it turns the seventy years of the captivity 
into seven generations I (Brown's Dictionary of the Bible, Art. Apocrypha.) 

9th. " The Song of the Three Holy Children,''' or " The Song of the Three Children in 
the Furnace" is placed in the Greek version of Daniel, and also in the Vulgate Latin version, 
between the 23rd and 24th verses of the third chapter. It is partly an indifferent imitation of 
the 148th Psalm, and partly deprecatory, and seems rather ill suited on that account to cele- 
brate such a miraculous deliverance. It does not appear to have ever been extant, in Hebrew ; 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



83 



and although it has met with much approbation for the piety of its sentiments, it was never 
admitted to be canonical before its recognition by the Council of Trent. The account of the 
flame streaming above the furnace "Forty and nine Cubits'" (near 30 yards), and of the angels 
" smiting the flame out of the furnace, and making the midst of the furnace as it had been 
a moist whistling wind,'''' seems romantic, though nothing is too great or too difficult for the 
power of the Almighty. 

The 15th verse contains an incorrect assertion: it is therein stated that there was " no 
prophet at that time" when it is well known that Daniel and Ezekiel both exercised the pro- 
phetic ministry then in Babylon. This apocryphal fragment is, therefore, most probably the 
production of some Hellenistic Jew. The Hymn, resembling the 148th Psalm, which com- 
mences at the 29th verse, was so much approved of by the compilers of the Liturgy of the 
Church of England, that they appointed it to be used instead of the Te Deum during Lent, 

10th. The " History of Susanna" has always been^ treated with some respect, but has never 
been considered as canonical, though the Council of Trent admitted it into the number of the 
sacred books. It is, like the rest, evidently the work of some Hellenistic Jew, and in the 
Vulgate version it forms the 13th chapter of the Book of Daniel. In the Septuagint version 
it is placed at the beginning of that book. Lamy, and some other modern critics after Julius 
Africanus and Origen, consider it to be both spurious and fabulous. That it was originally 
written in Greek is manifest in the punishment pronounced on the elders, from the play which 
is made on the Greek names of the mastic and holm trees, under which, they said, they found 
Susanna and the young man together. It appears rather incongruous to affirm that in the 
beginning of the captivity, Joachim, the husband of Susanna, was become so exceedingly rich ; 
that there were Jewish judges with the power of life and death in Babylon ; that Daniel, who 
was bred in the Court, had leisure, or, being so young, was admitted to be a judge; that 
Susanna went into her garden, at noon-day, to wash, and did so without searching if anybody 
was there ; or, that the Elders attempted to force her, when they could not but every moment 
expect the return of her maids. 

1 1th. " The History of the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon'' is a still more romantic 
story. It is not extant in either the Hebrew or the Chaldee language, and it was always 
rejected by the Jewish Church. Jerome gives it no better title than that of the " Fable of Bel 
and the Dragon ;" nor has it obtained more credit with posterity, except with the fathers of 
the Council of Trent, who determined it to be a part of the canonical Scriptures. It forms 
the 14th chapter of Daniel in the Latin Vulgate ; in the Greek it was called " The Prophecy 
of Habakkuk," the son of Jesus, the son of Levi : b\it this is evidently erroneous, for that 
prophet lived before the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and the events pretended to have taken 
place in this fable are assigned to the time of Cyrus. There are two Greek texts of this frag- 
ment, that of the Septuagint, and that found in Theodotion's Greek version of Daniel. 

The design of this fiction is to render idolatry ridiculous, and to exalt the true God ; but the 
author has destroyed the illusion of his fiction by transporting to Babylon the worship of 

m 2 



84 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



animals, which was never practised in that country. It is also quite improbable that Cyrus, 
a Persian, would worship a Babylonish idol, nay, an idol that was broken to pieces at the 
taking of the city. It is absurd to imagine that a man of his sense could believe an image of 
brass and clay did really eat and drink, or to suppose that the newly conquered Babylonians 
should, by menaces, oblige Cyrus to deliver up his beloved Daniel to them, to be cast into the 
den of lions ; or, that Habbacuc should be then alive to bring him food ; or, that Cyrus should 
be seven days before he went to the den to see what had become of Daniel. 

12th. " The Prayer of Manasses, King o/Judah, when he was holden captive in Babylon?' 
never appeared in the Hebrew language, and seems to be the production of some Pharisaical 
spirit. It was never recognized as canonical, and is rejected as spurious even by the Church 
of Rome. It cannot be traced to a higher source than the Vulgate Latin version ; and, there- 
fore, it has no claim to be considered as the original prayer which, in the Book of Chronicles, 
Manasseh is mentioned to have made, ^nd which it pretends to be. The author speaks of 
just persons, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as being without sin, and not called to 
repent. 

13th. The books of the " Maccabees " are thus denominated, because they relate the 
patriotic and gallant exploits of Judas Maccabeus and his brethren. The Maccabees rose in 
defence of their brethren the Jews, during the dreadful persecution to which they were sub- 
jected, on account of their religion, under Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, 160 years B.C. 
The most likely derivation of the title Maccabees is that which takes it from the motto put by 
Judas upon his standard, being this Hebrew sentence, taken out of Exodus xvi. 11, "Mi 
Camo-ka Baelim Jehovah," i. e., " Who is like unto thee among the gods, O Jehovah ?" 
which being written, like the S. P. Q. R., Senatus, Populusque Romanus, on the Roman 
standards, by an abbreviation formed by the united letters of these words put together, made 
the artificial word Maccabi ; and hence all that fought under that standard were called Mac- 
cabees, or Maccabeans. 

The First Book of Maccabees is a very valuable historical document, written with great 
accuracy and fidelity, on which more reliance may be placed than on the writings of Josephus, 
who has borrowed some of his materials from it, and has frequently mistaken its meaning. It 
is, indeed, an excellent history, and comes the nearest to the style and manner of the sacred 
historical writings of any extant. It was written originally in the Chaldee language of the 
Jerusalem dialect, which was the language spoken in Judea, from the return of the Jews 
thither from the Babylonish captivity ; and it was extant in this Syro-Chaldaic language in 
the time of Jerome, for he tells us he had seen it. The title which it then bore was " The 
Sceptre of the Prince of the Sons of GOD ;" a title which is certainly suitable to the cha- 
racter of Judas, who was a valiant commander of the persecuted Israelites. It contains the 
history of the Jews, under the government of the priest Mattathias and his sons, from the 
beginning of the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes to the death of Simon Maccabeus, a period of 
about thirty-four years. The author of this book is not certainly known : some conjecture 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



85 



hat it was written by John Hyrcanus, the son of Simon, who was prince and high priest of 
the Jews for nearly thirty years, and who commenced his government at the time when this 
history ends : by others it is ascribed to one of the Maccabees, and many are of opinion that 
it was compiled by men of the great synagogue. It is, however, most probable that it was 
composed in the time of John Hyrcanus, when the wars of the Maccabees were terminated, 
either by Hyrcanus himself, or by some persons employed by him. There is both a Greek 
and Latin translation of it, from the Syro-Chaldaic, and our English version is made from 
the Greek. 

There are many things in this book which show that it was not written by inspiration. The 
writer often observes, that there was no prophet in his time; and, indeed, he has blundered 
into several mistakes : as, that Alexander the Great parted his kingdom among his honour- 
able servants while he was yet alive ; that Antiochus the Great was taken alive by the Romans ; 
that they gave India and Media, parts of his kingdom, to Eumenes, king of Pergamus ; that 
the Roman senate consisted of 320 persons ; that Alexander Balas was the son of Antiochus 
Epiphanes, and several others, which are palpably absurd. 

14th. The " Second Book of Maccabees '' is a history of fifteen years, from the execu- 
tion of the commission of Heliodorus, who was sent by Seleucus to bring away the treasures 
of Ae Temple, to the victory obtained by Judas Maccabeus over Nicanor, that is, from the 
year of the world 3828 to 3843. It commences with two epistles sent from the Jews of 
Jerusalem to those of Alexandria and throughout Egypt, exhorting them to observe the feast 
of the dedication of the new altar, erected by Judas Maccabeus on his purifying the Temple. 
The second of these epistles is not only written in the name of Judas Maccabeus, who was 
slain thirty-six years before, but also contains such fabulous and absurd relations as could 
never have been written by the great council of the Jews assembled at Jerusalem for the whole 
nation, as this pretends to be. The epistles, which are confessedly spurious, are followed by 
the author's preface to his history, which is an abridgment of a larger work, compiled by one 
Jason, a Hellenistic Jew of Cyrene, who wrote in Greek the history of Judas Maccabeus and 
his brethren, and an account of the wars against Antiochus Epiphanes, and his son Eupator, 
in five books. The entire work of Jason has long since perished ; and Dr. Prideaux is of 
opinionthat the author of this second book of Maccabees was a Hellenistic Jew of Alexandria, 
because he makes a distinction between the temple in Egypt and that at Jerusalem, calling 
the latter " The Great Temple.'" 

The compilation of this unknown author is by no means equal in accuracy to the First 
Book of Maccabees, which it contradicts in several instances : it is not arranged in chnuio- 
logical order, and sometimes it is at variance with the inspired writings. The author con- 
cludes it, begging excuse if he had said anything unbecoming the story ; and, indeed, he had 
reason to do so, considering what a number of false and wicked things he retails : as, that Judas 
Maccabeus was alive in the 188th year of the Seleucidse, when he died in the 152nd ; that 
Antiochus Epiphanes was killed at the temple of Nanea in Persia, whereas he died on tne 



86 



LITERARY HISTORY OF THE BIBLE. 



frontiers of Babylon, of a terrible disease; that Nehemiah built the second temple and altar, 
whereas they were built sixty years before he came from Persia ; that Jeremiah hid the taber- 
nacle, ark, and altar of incense in a cave ; that Persepolis was in being 100 years after 
Alexander had burnt it to ashes; that Judas did well in offering prayers and sacrifices to 
make reconciliation for the dead ; and that Rasis did well in destroying himself to escape the 
fury of the Syrians. 

The name of Maccabees was first given to Judas the son of Mattathias, the priest of 
Modin, and his brethren, for the reason just mentioned; and, therefore, the two books just 
spoken of, which give us an account of their actions, are called the First and Second of the 
Maccabees. But because they were sufferers in the cause of their religion, others who were 
like sufferers in the same cause, and by their sufferings bore witness to the truth, were in after 
times called Maccabees by the Jews. For this reason, other two books, giving an account of 
other persecutions endured by the Jews, are to be found under the title of the Third and 
Fourth Books of the Maccabees. The Third Book contains the history of a persecution 
intended against the Jews in Egypt by Ptolemy Philopater, but which was miraculously pre- 
vented. From its style, this book appears to have been written by some Alexandrian Jew : it 
abounds with the most absurd fables. With regard to its subject, it ought in strictness to 
be called the First Book of Maccabees, as the events it professes to relate occurred before *the 
achievements of that heroic family ; but it is of less authority and repute than the other two, 
and, therefore, it is reckoned after them. It is found in most ancient MSS. of the 
Greek Septuagint, particularly in the Alexandrian and Vatican MSS. ; but it was never 
inserted in the Latin Vulgate, nor in our English Bibles. 

Of the Fourth Book of the Maccabees very little is known. It is destitute of every internal 
mark of credibility, and is supposed to be the same as the book " concerning the government, 
or empire of reason," ascribed to Josephus by Philostratus, Eusebius, and Jerome. It is 
extant in some Greek MSS., in which it is placed after the three books of Maccabees. Dr. 
Lardner thinks it is the work of some unknown Christian writer. The history contained in it 
extends to about 160 years; beginning at Seleucus's attempt to pillage the Temple, and 
ending just before the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Upon the whole, in regard to these apocryphal books, it is to be observed, they appear to 
have been entirely the work of Hellenistic Jews, and quite destitute of any proper claim to 
the authority of divine inspiration. The Jews, after their return from the Babylonish cap- 
tivity to the time of our Saviour, were much given to religious romances ; and of this sort the 
greater part, if not the whole, of these books are to be accounted. They were never extant 
in Hebrew, neither are they quoted in the New Testament, or by the Jewish writers, Philo 
and J osephus ; on the contrary, they contain many things which are fabulous, false, and con- 
tradictory to the canonical Scriptures. They are, nevertheless, possessed of some value as 
ancient writings, which throw considerable light upon the phraseology of Scripture, and upon 
the history and manners of the East. 



87 



THE SEPTUAGINT AND VULGATE. 



It. has generally been admitted, that the Septuagint, which, as has been explained, is so 
called from the Seventy, or, more properly, the Seventy-two interpreters, who were em- 
ployed in the translation, was the first Greek version of the Holy Scriptures. No mention has 
been made of any that preceded it, and it cannot be deemed probable that Ptolemy would 
have taken so much pains to procure a version of the Jewish law, had any other previously 
existed ; and it is equally improbable he should have been unacquainted with it, had it existed 
at a time when, with the assistance of Demetrius, he was procuring Greek books from every 
part of the world. It. is plainly affirmed by Philo, that before his time the Law was not 
known in any language but the original. 

The acquaintance with Jewish customs and Jewish history, which many Heathen writers, 
before the time of Ptolemy, have manifested, had led many persons to conclude that they 
must have derived their knowledge from a Greek version of at least parts of the Old Testa- 
ment. Yet we may account for the knowledge of Jewish customs, &c, which these writers 
display, without supposing that they obtained it from any Greek version ; for we have direct 
evidence that Aristotle, at least, had intercourse with the Jews, for the purpose of gaining 
information respecting their Law ; and as the philosophers were certainly acquainted with the 
doctrine of the Gymnosophists, and of the Druids, who had not any written law, so we may 
suppose they obtained their knowledge of the Jewish religion from personal intercourse with 
individuals of that nation. 

At first, it is probable, the Law only was translated, for there was no need of the other 
books in the public worship ; no other part of the Scriptures but the Law having been in 
early times read in the Synagogues. But, afterwards, when the reading of the Prophets also 
came into use in the synagogues in Judea, in the time of the persecution under Antiochus 
Epiphanes, and the Jews of Alexandria, who in those times conformed themselves to the 
usages of Judea and Jerusalem in all matters of religion, were induced hereby to do the 
same, this caused a translation of the Prophets also to be there made into the Greek lan- 
guage, in like manner as the Law had been before. After this, other persons translated the 
rest for the private use of the same people ; and so that whole version was completed which 
we now call the Septuagint ; and after it was thus made, it became of common use among 
all the churches of the Hellenistical Jews, wherever they were dispersed among the Grecian 
cities. 

When the Hebrew language had ceased to be the vulgar tongue, the version of the 



88 



THE SEPTUAGINT AND VULGATE. 



Seventy was read in the synagogues, even in Judea itself. It is true, this was not univer- 
sally done ; there was a sort of division among the Jews about it ; some were for having the 
Scripture read only in Hebrew, and were, therefore, called Hebrews or Hebraizers ; whilst 
others read it in Greek, and were called Hellenists, that is Grecians, or Grecizers, as has 
been already observed. As the number of the latter was greater than that of the Hebrew- 
Jews, and the Apostles preached most frequently to them, it is not to be wondered at, as 
Jerome observes, that the passages of the Old Testament which are quoted in the New are 
sometimes borrowed from thence. It is thus seen that this version preceded the publication of 
the Gospel ; and it has been authorized by the use which the Apostles made of it, as well as 
the whole Church. It seems very evident, however, from various passages, as Parkhurst has 
remarked, that the writers of the New Testament, in their citations of the Old, did not 
intend either Literally to translate the Hebrew, or to stamp their authority on the Septuagint 
translation, but only to refer us to the original Scriptures. 

The Septuagint version was continued in public use among the Jews for more than 300 
years; but as it grew into use among the Christians, it went out of credit with the Jews. In 
the twelfth year of the Emperor Adrian, a.d. 128, Aquila, a native of Sinope, a city of 
Pontus, published a new Greek version of the Old Testament. This man, who had been a 
Christian, and afterwards became a Jew, is supposed to have undertaken this work in opposi- 
tion to the Christians, not only that the Seventy might be superseded, but that a new version 
might be given of those passages on which they relied most in their controversies with the 
Jews. The Hellenistic Jews received this version, and afterwards used it everywhere instead 
of the Septuagint ; and, therefore, this Greek translation is often mentioned in the Talmud, or 
Compendium of Jewish Doctrines, but the Septuagint never. The Emperor Justinian published 
a decree, which is still extant among his Institutions, whereby he ordained, that the Jews 
might read the Scriptures in their synagogues, either in the Greek version of the Seventy, 
or in that of Aquila, or in any other language, according to the country in which they should 
dwell. But the Jewish doctors having determined against this, their decrees prevailed against 
that of the Emperor, and within a little while after, both the Septuagint and the version of 
Aquila was rejected by them ; and ever since, the solemn reading of the Scriptures among 
them, in their public assemblies, has been in the Hebrew and Chaldee languages. " The 
Chaldee," says Dr. Prideaux, " is used in some of their synagogues even to this day, and par- 
ticularly at Frankfort in Germany." 

Not long after the time of Aquila, there were two other Greek versions of the Old Testa- 
ment Scriptures made ; the first by Theodition, who lived in the time of Commodus, the 
Roman Emperor, and the other by Symmachus, who flourished a little after him in the reigns 
of Severus and Caracalla. The former is supposed to have belonged to Ephesus, and fell 
into the heretical errors of Ebion and Marcion, to which sect Symmachus also belonged, being 
by birth a Samaritan, and by profession first a Jew, then a Christian, and, lastly, an Ebionite 
heretic. They both of them undertook the making of their versions with the same design as 



THE SEPTUAGINT AND VULGATE. 



89 



Aquila did, although not entirely for the same end ; for they all three entered on this work 
for the perverting of the Old Testament Scriptures. Aquila, however, did it for the serving 
of the interest of the Jewish religion, the other two for promoting the interest of the heretical 
sect to which they belonged; and all of them wrested the original Scriptures in their versions 
of them, as much as they could, to make them speak for the different ends which they pro- 
posed. From the circumstances, therefore, under which these versions were made, it may be 
inferred that their authority cannot be very great, though, from the fragments of them which 
have been collected,, we may derive considerable assistance in understanding particular portions 
of the Old Testament. 

In speaking of the ancient versions of the Bible, it must be observed, that there are two in 
the Syriac language, the Old, which is a translation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew, 
and the New, which is a translation of the New Testament from the Greek. This last is, 
beyond contradiction, the most ancient that ever was formed in the Christian church. It is 
that which the Christians in the East, called Maronites, make use of in their worship ; and 
they, as well as the other Syrian Christians, boast very much of its antiquity ; for they allege 
that one portion of it was made by the command of Solomon, for the use of Hiram, King of 
Tyre, and the other part by the command of Abgarus, King of Edessa. It is certain this 
version was of considerable antiquity, and was in all likelihood made within the first century 
after Christ, and had for its author some Christian of the Jewish nation that was thoroughly 
skilled in both the Hebrew and Syriac languages ; and as it is among the oldest translations 
that we have of any pari of the Scriptures, so it is the best, without any exception, that has 
been made of them by any of the ancients into any language whatsoever. This last character 
belongs to it in respect of the New Testament, as well as of the Old ; and, therefore, of all the 
ancient versions which are now consulted by Christians for the better understanding of the 
Holy Scriptures, as well of the New Testament as of the Old, none can better serve this end 
than this old Syriac version, when carefully consulted and well understood. To this purpose 
the very nature of the language gives much assistance : for, it having been the mother-tongue 
of those who wrote the New Testament, and a dialect of that in which the Old was first given, 
many things of both are more happily expressed in it through this whole version than can well 
be done in any other language. 

It is not known who was the author of the first Latin version of the Scriptures ; but St. 
Augustine, a celebrated bishop of the Latin Church, about a.d. 400, tells us that there soon 
appeared a great number of them. " We know them who translated the Scriptures into 
Greek," says he, " and the number of them is not great ; but the number of the Latin trans- 
lators is infinite. When the faith came to be established, the first man who found a Greek 
copy, notwithstanding the little knowledge' he had of the two languages, boldly undertook a 
translation of it." From another passage of his writings it has been generally concluded that 
there was one particular version, called " the Italian," in higher estimation than the rest, and 
which was the authorised version' of the Roman churches. However this may be, it is certain 

N 



90 



THE SEPTUAGINT AND VULGATE. 



the Latin church was in want of a version of the Scriptures formed directly from the Hebrew, 
as all the Latin translations in existence at that time had been taken from the Seventy. 
St. Jerome, who was contemporary with St. Augustine, was in every respect best suited, of 
any of the learned men of that time, to the task of making a new translation, which he accord- 
ingly undertook. He began by correcting some books of the Old Testament in the Latin 
Bible, particularly the version of the Psalms, and marked those passages wherein any dif- 
ference existed between the Latin version, the Greek of the Seventy, and the Hebrew original. 
He had early applied himself to the study of the Hebrew language, and at different periods 
had the assistance of five Jewish teachers ; he had access also to the works of Origen, who 
published what is called the Hexapla, that is, the Bible in six different languages. From these 
he must have derived considerable assistance in the work he undertook, that of translating 
into Latin all the Books of the Old Testament, to which he added a corrected edition of the 
common version of the New. 

The work of St. Jerome is still used in the Roman Catholic Church, and is known by the name 
of the Vulgate; for which some have gone so far as to claim the authority and infallibility of 
an inspired production. At first, however, his version was not generally received, for although 
many were pleased with it, because it was more consonant to the original, and a more literal 
translation than that of the Seventy ; yet others, and, among the rest, Augustine, considered 
it a rash attempt, and calculated to diminish the authority of the Greek version. It was 
approved of by the Jews as conformable to their text, and was received into the Church 
gradually and by tacit consent, rather than by the sanction of public authority. 

Nevertheless, the Vulgate which we have at present, and which the celebrated Council of 
Trent declared to be authentic, is not the pure version of St. Jerome ; it has in it a great deal 
of the ancient Italian ; but it cannot now be discovered by whom, or at what time, this mixture 
was made. Some think that St. Jerome has no part at all in the present Vulgate ; and it is 
certain that the Psalms in it are not his. However, the Latin version comes nearer to the 
Hebrew, and is more perspicuous, than the Septuagint. Since the time of the Council of 
Trent, namely, in 1589 and 1592, corrected editions of the Vulgate have been published under 
the authority of the Popes Sixtus the Fifth, and Clement the Eighth. 



91 



OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. 



After having spoken of the books contained in the Bible, and of the division of those books 
which have been used by the Jews and Christians, both in ancient and modern times, it may 
now be necessary to examine a little into the language in which they were written. The Old 
Testament was written, originally, in the Hebrew tongue, and this language is generally 
considered as having the best claims to be considered the most ancient at present existing in 
the world, and, perhaps, as the primeval tongue of the human race. By the Hebrew 
language, therefore, is meant that which was spoken by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the 
Twelve Patriarchs, which was afterwards preserved among their posterity, and in which Moses 
wrote, it being improbable that he would employ any other language than that which was in 
use among the Jews. 

This language is supposed by some to derive its name from Heber, who was grandson to 
Shem, whose posterity were denominated Hebrews ; but it is much more likely that it received 
its name from its being the mother-tongue of the descendants of Abraham, who were called 
Hebrews, not because they were descended from Heber, but because Abraham, having 
received a command from God to leave the country where he lived, which was beyond the 
Euphrates, passed that river and came into the land of Canaan, where the inhabitants of that 
country gave him the name of the Hebrew, that is, one that passed over ; in the same manner 
as the French call all those who live beyond the mountains Ullramontanes. 

The reasons which demonstrate the antiquity of the Hebrew tongue are many. In the first 
place, the names which the Scriptures explain are therein drawn from Hebrew roots. It was 
thus that the first man was called Adam, because he had been formed out of the ground, 
which in Hebrew is called Adamah. The first woman was called Eve, because she ivas the 
origin of life to all, Evach in Hebrew signifying to live. The name of Cain, which comes 
from Canah, signifying to acquire, or get, alludes to what Eve said when he was born — / 
have gotten a man from the Lord. The explanation of these names is not to be found in any 
language but the Hebrew ; and, as this relation between names and things does not occur in 
any other language, it is in it alone that we can see the reasons why the first human beings 
were so called. 

The names of an immense number of people, also, who are descended from the Hebrews, 
show the antiquity both of the nation and language. The Assyrians, for instance, derive 
their name from Ashur, the Elamites from Elam, the Arameans from Aram, the Lydians 
from Lud, the Medes from Madai, and the Ionians from Javan, who are all traced in the 
Hebrew Bibles to Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These names have no signification in any 

K 2 



92 



OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. 



language but the Hebrew, which shows that they have their derivation from thence, as are 
also the ancient names of the Pagan deities : to which we must add the remark, that there is 
no language in which some remains of the Hebrew are not to be found. 

A very apposite example in allusion to the meaning of proper names in Hebrew is to 
be found in the Book of Ruth, towards the end of the first chapter, where it is said, " And 
the whole town was in commotion about them; and the women said is this Naomi?" And 
she said unto them, " Call me not Naomi ; " (which means Delightful) " call me Marah," 
(which means Bitter) " for the Almighty has caused bitterness exceedingly to me. I went away 
full, and Jehovah hath caused me to return empty ; wherefore, then, do ye call me Naomi, 
since Jehovah hath brought affliction on me, and the Almighty hath caused evil to befall me." 

Thus we see that, in Hebrew, as well as in most of the Oriental languages, all proper names 
are significant words ; and this is found to be the case also amongst many of the nations in 
Africa. This circumstance has a great effect in increasing the energy of the diction in these 
tongues ; for it not unfrequently happens, as in the case of Naomi, that the speaker or writer, 
in addressing a person by his name, makes use of it at the same time as a word of ordinary 
signification, to express something in the inward disposition or the outward circumstances of 
the possessor. Instances of this occur in almost every page of the Hebrew Scriptures ; and, 
as may be supposed, it is impossible, in such cases, for any common translation to do justice 
to the energy of the original. We have a very remarkable example of this in the 25th chap. 
1st Samuel, 25th ver., in which Abigail, speaking of her husband, says to David, " Let not my 
lord set his mind at. all now towards the man of Belial (i. e. worthless), this same person, 
towards Nabal (which means a scoundrel) ; for like his name so is he; Nabal is his name, 
and Nebelah (i. e. vileness) is with him." 

In speaking of the meaning of proper names, however, the most extraordinary example, 
perhaps, that can be produced from any book, either ancient or modern, is the following, 
which is to be found in the 5th chapter of Genesis: — The names of the 7W& antediluvian 
patriarchs, from Adam to Noah inclusive, are there given ; and when these ten names are 
literally translated, and placed in the order in which they occur, they form altogether the 
following very remarkable sentence in English : — 

Adam Man 

Seth appointed 

Enos miserable, (and) 

Cainan lamenting ; 

Mahalaleel the God of glory 

Jared shall descend 

Enoch to instruct : 

Methuselah .his death sends, 

Lamech to the afflicted, 

Noah consolation. 



/ 



OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. 93 " 

We need not be surprised, therefore, at what is mentioned in the Spectator, No. 221, of a 
certain rabbinical divine having taken the three first of these names as the subject of his 
discourse, forming thus the text of a regular sermon. " We had a rabbinical divine," says 
Addison, " who was chaplain to the Earl of Essex in Queen Elizabeth's time, that had an 
admirable head for secrets of this nature. Upon taking the doctor of divinity's degree, he 
preached before the University of Cambridge, upon the first verse of the first chapter of the 
First Book of Chronicles, in which, says he, you have the three following words : — 

" Adam, Sheth, Enosh." 
He divided this short text into many parts, and, by discovering several mysteries in each 
word, made a most learned and elaborate discourse. The name of this profound preacher 
was Dr. Alabaster, of whom the reader may find a more particular account in Dr. Fuller's 
Book of English Worthies." 

It is evident, that although this matter appeared ridiculous enough in Addison's eyes, so as 
to furnish him with a theme for a very amusing paper, yet, on considering attentively the 
meaning of the original words here used as proper names, a great deal of very sound doctrine 
might be elicited by a subtle divine, even from an apparently insignificant text. 

In the same way, the names of the animals in Hebrew are found to be words expressive of 
their qualities, which gives support to the idea that this was the language which Adam used 
when he gave them their names ; as we find recorded in the second chapter of Genesis, at 
the nineteenth verse. — " And Jehovah God formed out of the ground every beast of the field, 
and he formed also every fowl of the heavens ; and he brought them unto Adam to see what 
he would call them, and whatever Adam called it — the living creature— it is his name." 

Some of the names of animals in Hebrew are still found to be clearly descriptive of their 
qualities ; and, therefore, in regard to what animal is intended there can, in such cases, be 
no dispute. But, with respect to some others, the matter is not so plain ; as, from the root 
not being now found in the language, the ideal meaning of the name cannot be so readily 
ascertained; and hence, the eleventh chapter of Leviticus, in which the names of certain 
clean and unclean animals are enumerated, presents difficulties, to a translator, of no ordinary 
description. 

There is, perhaps, no language in the world so easily reduced to its original elements as 
the Hebrew. As Wilson has well expressed it : — ■" We descend from words to their elements; 
and the accurate knowledge of letters is the principal part of the Hebrew grammar. Its 
flexion nearly approaches that of the modern languages, particularly the English. The 
relations and dependencies of nouns are not distinguished by terminations, or cases, but by 
particles or prepositions prefixed. The persons, moods, or tenses of verbs are not marked 
by the changes of their last syllables, but by means of letters of a particular order, which 
sometimes appear in the middle, sometimes in the beginning, and sometimes in the end of 
the original word." In fact, the structure of the Hebrew language is peculiarly favourable 
for the expression of energy and sublimity. The words are remarkable for shortness, the 



94 OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. 

greater part consisting of not more than two, three, or four letters ; few words have more 
than ten letters, and those that consist of that number are not many. The sentences are 
also, for the most part, short, and are quite free from that complexity which is apt to em- 
barrass the reader when perusing even the best authors of Greece and Rome. The idiom of 
any language consists in the order of the words ; but it is well known that, in this respect, 
the Greek and Latin tongues are extremely capricious, the words not being arranged in them 
in the order of the understanding, but of the ear, according to the sound rather than the 
sense. The Greek and Roman writers place the emphatic words in whatever order the 
sentence can be made to run most musically, though the sense be suspended till the speaker 
or reader come to the end ; and hence the necessity of so many flexions and syntax rules for 
a learner to arrange them to find out the meaning. Yet, even for this purpose, more de- 
clensions than one were not necessary ; nor more tenses than three, a past, a present, and a 
future. 

From this mass of perplexity the Hebrew language is entirely free. Its original words, 
called roots, consist of a proper number of letters, commonly three, the fewest that make a 
perfect number, and they express an action finished or perfected by a single agent. It has a 
proper number of voices, i. e. active, passive, and medial, and only the tenses that are in 
nature. Its primitive words are more sentimental and scientific than sonorous, and they 
express original ideas, being definitions of things descriptive of their natures. 

The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and such as are immediately derived from them, or 
constructed on their model, are the only languages that are formed on a regular artificial 
plan ; and all other tongues of which we know anything, except, perhaps, the Persian and 
Sanscrit, must be considered in comparison as mere gibberish, being quite rude in their 
original formation ; nor is it possible to reduce them to ;..ny other state, without wholly meta- 
morphosing them. That which was never the language of a cultivated learned people, and 
in which there are no literary works of taste, cannot be a polished language, although it may 
have been the language of a civilized nation, or of a court, if they were only an illiterate 
people. In a word, all languages that have a concourse of consonants, or silent letters, are 
rude in their writing or pronunciation, whatever their structure may be. The Greek and the 
Latin are free from the latter fault, and the Hebrew from both. " As Solomon possessed the 
most wisdom and knowledge," says Mr. Ray, " and treated of all subjects of natural philosophy, 
&c, and his court being the most splendid and elegant, as people came to it from all nations, 
and greatly admired it, the Hebrew must be a copious and elegant language, and its structure 
is invariable, being the same in Moses and Malachh at a thousand years' distance." — (Vide 
Ray's Synopsis of Philosophical Systems, p. 89.) In speaking of the genius of a language, 
indeed, which is its force, vigour, or energy, the Hebrew may, without doubt, be said to 
excel all. 

It is evident, therefore, that if, as Longinus observes, " Saying the greatest things in the 
fewest words" be essential to sublimity and energy in discourse, the Hebrew is the best 



OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. 



95 



language in the world for the purpose. In it we have no superfluous parts of a sentence in 
words, or even in letters. A Hebrew writer conveys his meaning without circumlocution ; 
for, although he were inclined, he would be unable to accomplish it, because the language is 
unsuitable in its nature for being employed in any such way; and, therefore, if an author's 
subject be good, even although he should possess but little genius, he will find no great 
difficulty to clothe his ideas in sublime and energetic language, if he write in Hebrew. 

Such is the simple nature of the formation of this primitive language, and which seems, 
at the same time, to entitle it more to the claim of being a philosophical tongue than perhaps 
any other in the world. It is remarkable that the structure of this very ancient language 
approaches closely to that of the English and other modern tongues ; as the relations and 
dependencies of nouns, according to what has been already remarked, are not distinguished 
by terminations or cases, as in Greek and Latin, but by particles or prepositions (or little 
words) prefixed, and which are, at the same time, conjoined with the noun, as if they were a 
part of it. 

The advantages which the Hebrew language possesses above all others in the simplicity of 
its formation, its remarkable originality, in that it borrows from no language, whilst almost 
all others borrow from it ; as also the ideality which is found to pervade its roots or primitive 
words, have all been considered as entitling it to higher claims in the consideration of philo- 
sophers than any other language in the world, either ancient or modern. These notions have 
been carried to such a length, indeed, by some learned men, that they gave rise to an entirely 
new school of philosophy, generally known by the designation of the Hutchinsonian ; the dis- 
ciples of which are remarkable as being opposed in many things to the Newtonian system, 
and as being possessed with the belief, that in the Hebrew language, and in it alone, are to 
be found the germs of all true philosophy. The system takes its name from John Hutchinson, 
an English philosopher and critical author, who died in 1737, and was remarkable as an 
opponent of Dr. Woodward on natural history, and of Sir Isaac Newton in philosophy. 



96 



OF THE BIBLE, 

AND ITS TRANSLATIONS INTO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. 



Bible, is the name applied by Christians by way of eminence or distinction to the collection 
of Sacred writing, or the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; known also by 
various other appellations, as, The Sacred Books, Holy Writ, Inspired Writings, Scriptures, 
&c. The Jews style the Bible (that is, the Old Testament) Mikra, which signifies Lesson or 
Lecture. 

This collection of the Sacred Writings, containing those of the Old and New Testament, is 
justly looked upon as the foundation of the Jewish, as well as the Christian, Religion. The 
Jews, it is true, acknowledged only the Scriptures of the Old Testament, the correcting and 
publishing of which is unanimously ascribed, both by the Jews and Christians, to Ezra. 
Some of the ancient fathers, on no other foundation than that fabulous and apocryphal book, 
the Second Book of Esdras, pretend that the Scriptures were entirely lost and destroyed at the 
Babylonish captivity, and that Ezra restored them again by divine revelation. What is cer- 
tain, is, that, in the reign of Josiah there was no other book of the law extant, besides that 
found in the Temple by Hilkiah ; from which original, by order of that pious king Josiah, 
copies were immediately written out, and search made for all the other parts of the Scriptures, 
(2 Kings xxii.) by which means copies of the whole became multiplied among the people, 
who carried them with them into their captivity. After the return of the Jews from the Baby- 
lonish captivity, Ezra got together as many copies of the Sacred writings as he could, and out 
of them all prepared a correct edition, disposing the several books in their proper order, and 
settling the canon of Scripture for his time. These books he divided into three parts, 1st, 
The Law; 2nd. The Prophets; 3rd. The Cetubim or Hagiographia, i.e. The Holy 
Writings. 

1st. The Law contains 1. ""Genesis; 2. Exodus; 3. Leviticus; 4. Numbers; and 5. Deutero- 
nomy : under the general term of the Pentateuch. 

2nd. The writings of the Prophets, are, 1. Joshua ; 2. Judges, with Ruth ; 3. Samuel ; 
4. Kings; 5. Isaiah; 6. Jeremiah with his Lamentations; 7. Ezekiel ; 8. Daniel; 
9. The twelve minor Prophets ; 10. Job; 11. Ezra; 12. Nehemiah; 13. Esther. 

3rd. The Hagiographia consists of 1. The Psalms; 2. The Prophets; 3. Ecclesiastes ; 
4. The Song of Solomon. This division was made for the sake of reducing the number 
of the Sacred Books to the number of the letters in iheir alphabet, which are 22. 



OF THE BIBLE. 



97 



At present, the Jews reckon 24 books in their canon of Scripture, in disposing of which the 
Law stands, as it did in the former division, and the Prophets are distributed into the former 
and the latter Prophets. 

The former Prophets are : — 

Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings. 

The latter Prophets are : — 

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 12 minor Prophets. 
And the Hagiographia consists of: — 
The Psalms, the Proverbs, Job, the Song of Solomon, Ruth, the Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, 

Esther, Daniel, Ezra, the Chronicles. 

Under the name of Ezra, they comprehend Nehemiah. It is true this order has not been 
always observed; but the variations from it are of little or no moment. The Jews do not put 
Daniel in the rank of a Prophet, although they acknowledge him to have been a man inspired 
by God, and whose writings are full of the clearest prophecies concerning the time of the 
appearance of the Messiah, and what should happen to their nation. Our Saviour, therefore, 
gives him the name of a Prophet, and the Jewish Doctors are much puzzled to find out a 
proper reason for their not doing the same. " It is," says Maimonides, " because every thing 
that Daniel wrote was not revealed to him when he was awake, and had the use of his reason, 
but in the night, and in obscure dreams." But this is a very unsatisfactory account of the 
matter ; and others are of opinion that the name of a Prophet was commonly given to those 
only who were of a certain college, and whose business it was to write the Annals ; and that, 
therefore, their works were ranked among the prophetical books, though they did not contain 
a single prediction of any thing to come, as the books of Joshua and Judges ; while, on the con- 
trary, the works of those who were not of these colleges of the Prophets were not ranked 
among the prophetical books, although they contained true prophecies. 

The celebrated Jewish writers, Josephus and Philo, reckon 22 canonical books in the Old 
Testament, which is the number of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet ; and, to make out this, 
they join the book of Ruth to that of Judges, and the Lamentations of Jeremiah to the 
book of his prophecies. But other Jewish doctors divide the book of Ruth from that of 
Judges, and making likewise a separate book of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, they reckon 
24 books in all. In order to accommodate this number to that of the letters of the alphabet, 
they repeat the letter yod three times, as they say, in honour to the great name of God 
Jehovah, of which yod is the first letter ; and in Chaldee, three yods together were used to 
express this adorable name ; but, as the modern Jews thought that this savoured too much of 
what Christians call the Trinity, they use only two yods for this purpose. St. Jerome is of 
opinion that St. John had this division of the Hebrew Scriptures in view, when in his Revela- 
tion he speaks of the four and twenty elders who paid adoration to the Lamb of God. 

The Latins agree with the Jews as to the number of the Psalms, which is 150, but the Greeks 
and Latins divide them differently from the Hebrews. In the Greek Bible and the Vulgate, 

o 



98 



OF THE BIBLE. 



or common Latin version, the ninth and tenth, according to the Hebrew, make but one Psalm ; 
and, therefore, in order to make up the number of 150, they divided the 147th into two 
parts. 

The Pentateuch is divided into certain paragraphs or sections, which they call Parashiuth, 
and which they subdivide into the Great and Little. This division many of the Jews be- 
lieved to have been appointed by Moses himself ; but others, with more probability, ascribe 
it to Ezra ; and they say the design of this division was that one of the Great sections might 
be read in their synagogues in a week. There are in all 54 of these, because in their inter- 
calated years, a month being then added, there were 54 Sabbaths, in other years they reduced 
them to 52, by twice joining together two of the shortest sections : this arrangement they were 
obliged to attend to, as they were constrained to read all the Pentateuch over once every year, 
finishing it on the Feast of Tabernacles, and beginning it again on the next Sabbath day. Till 
the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, they read only the Law, but the reading of it being 
prohibited, they substituted in the room thereof 54 sections out of the Prophets ; and when 
the reading of the Law was restored to them by the Maccabees, the section which was read 
every Sabbath out of the Law served for their first lesson, and the sections out of the Prophets 
for their second. The Little Sections, which are subdivisions of the Greater, are made ac- 
cording to the subjects they treat of ; and these Great and Little Sections are again of two 
sorts ; one of which is called Petuchoh, that is, Open Sections, and the other Sethumoth, that 
is, Close Sections. The former commence in the Hebrew Bibles always at the beginning of 
lines, and are marked with three Pe's, if it be a Great Section ; and with only one, if it be 
a Little Section ; because Pe is the first letter of the word Petuchoh. Every Open Section 
takes its name from its first word ; and thus the first Section in the whole Bible is called Bere- 
shith, which is the first word of the Book of Genesis in Hebrew. The Close Sections begin 
in the middle of a line, and are marked with the letter Samech, which is the first letter of 
the word Sethumoth ; if it be a Great Section, it has three Samechs, if a Little Section, only 
one. Every Great Section is also divided again into seven parts, which are read in the syna- 
gogue by so many different persons. If any Priest be present, he begins, and, a Levite reads 
'^Sifter him ; and, in the choice of the rest, regard is had to their dignity and condition. The 
division of the prophetical books, already mentioned, are read jointly with those of Moses, in 
the same manner. These latter divisions are called Haphteroth, a term which in the Hebrew 
tongue is Dismissions, because after this reading is over the people are dismissed. 

The Jews call the division of the Holy Scriptures into chapters Perdkim, which signifies 
Fragments ; and the division into verses they call Pesukim, a word of nearly the same signi- 
fication as the former. These last are marked out in the Hebrew Bibles by two great points at the 
end of them, called from hence Soph-Pasuk, i.e., The end of the verse. But the division of the 
Scriptures into chapters and verses, as we now have them is of later date. It is supposed by 
some that Ezra was the author of the division of the Sections into verses, and if that supposi- 
tion is not correct, it certainly was introduced not long after him, and seems to have been de- 



OF THE BIBLE. 99 

* 

signed for the use of the Targumists or Chaldee interpreters :* for, after the return of the Jews 
from the Babylonish captivity, when the Hebrew Language ceased to be their mother tongue, 
and the Chaldee grew into use instead of it, the custom was that the Law should be first read 
in the original Hebrew, and then interpreted to the people in the Chaldee language, for which 
purpose these shorter sections, or periods, were very convenient. The Psalms, indeed, were 
always divided as at present; for St. Paul, in his sermon at Antioch in Pisidia, quotes the 
second Psalm ; but as to the rest of the Holy Scriptures, the division of them into such chap- 
ters as at present is what the ancients knew nothing of. Some attribute it to Stephen Langton, 
who was Archbishop of Canterbury in the reigns of King John and Henry the Third, in 1216, 
&c. But the true author of this invention was Hugo de Sancto Caro, who being, from a 
Dominical Monk, advanced to the dignity of a Cardinal, and the first of that order that was 
so, is commonly called Hugo Cardinalis. 

This Cardinal Hugo, who flourished about the year 1240, and died in 1262, had laboured much 
in the study of the Holy Scriptures, and made a comment upon the whole of them. The carry- 
ing on of this work gave him the occasion of inventing the first concordance that was made of 
the Scriptures, that is, of the vulgar Latin Bible; for, conceiving that such an index of all the 
words and phrases in the Bible would be of great use for the attaining of a better understand- 
ing of it, he projected a scheme for the making such an index, and forthwith set a great num- 
ber of the monks of his order on the collecting of the words under their proper classes in every 
letter of the alphabet, in order to this design ; and, by the help of so many hands, he soon 
accomplished his purpose. This work was afterwards much improved by Arlotto Thuseus and 
Conradus Halberstadius, the former a Franciscan, the other a Dominican, friar, who both 
lived about the end of the same century. But the whole intention of the work being for the 
easier finding of any word or passage in the Scriptures, the Cardinal found it necessary, to 
make it answer his purpose, in the first place, to divide the books into sections, and the 
sections into other divisions, that by these he might the better make the references, and the 
more exactly point out in the index where any word or passage might be found in the text ; 
and these sections are the chapters into which the Bible has ever since been divided. For, 
on the publishing of this Concordance, the usefulness of it being immediately discerned, all 
were desirous to have it ; and, for the sake of the use of it, they all divided their Bibles as 
Hugo had done ; for the references in the Concordance being made by these chapters, and the 
subdivisions of them, unless their Bibles had been divided in the same manner, the Concord- 
ance would have been useless. And thus this division of the several books of the Bible into 
chapters had its origin, which has ever since been made use of in all places, and among all 
people, wherever the Bible itself is used in these western parts of the world ; for before this 
there was no division of the books of the vulgar Latin Bibles at all. But the subdivision of 
the chapters was not then by verses as now. Hugo's way of subdividing them was by the 
letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, placed in the margin at equal distances from one another, accord- 

* See Appendix, p. 143. 

o 2 



100 OF THE BIBLE. 

• 

ing as the chapters were longer or shorter. In long chapters all these seven letters were 
used, in others fewer, as the length of the chapters required ; for the subdivision of the 
chapters by verses, which is now in all our Bibles, was not introduced into them till some ages 
after, and then it was from the Jews that the use of it, as we now have it, took its origin on 
the following occasion. 

About the year 1430 there lived here among the Western Jews a famous Rabbi, called by 
some Rabbi Mordecai Nathan, by others Rabbi Isaac Nathan, and, by many, by both of these 
names. This Rabbi being very conversant with the Christians, and having frequent disputes 
with their learned men about religion, came to the knowledge of the great use which they made 
of Hugo's Latin Concordance, and the benefit they received from it in the ready finding of any 
place in the Scriptures they had occasion to consult ; and he immediately began to make a 
Concordance to the Hebrew Bible for the use of the Jews. He began this work in the year 
1438, and finished it in 1445; and the first publishing of it happening about, the time when 
printing was invented, it has since that time undergone several editions from the press. The 
Buxtorfs, father and son, bestowed much pains on this work ; and the edition of it published 
by them at Basil, in 1632, is, by far, the most complete, and has deservedly the reputation of 
being the best book of the kind extant. 

In composing this book, Rabbi Nathan, finding it necessary to follow the same division of 
the Scriptures into chapters which Hugo had made in them, it had the like effect as to the 
Hebrew Bibles that Hugo's had as to the Latin, causing the same divisions to be made in all 
the Hebrew Bibles, which were afterwards either written out or printed for common use; and 
from hence the division of the books into chapters first came into the Hebrew Bibles. But 
Nathan, though he followed Hugo in the division into chapters, did not do so in the division 
of the chapters by the letters A, B, C, &c, in the margin, but introduced a better system, by 
adopting a division that was made by verses. This division, as already mentioned, was very 
ancient ; but it was till now, without any numbers, put to the verses. The numbering, there- 
fore, of the verses in the chapters, and the quoting of the passages in every chapter by the 
verses, was Rabbi Nathan's invention ; in every thing else he followed Hugo's plan. Nathan's 
method of numbering his verses was by affixing the numerical Hebrew letters in the margin at 
every fifth verse ; and this has been the usage of the Jews in all their Hebrew Bibles ever 
since, except that subsequently they introduced the common figures for numbering the inter- 
mediate verses between every fifth. Vatalbus soon after published a Latin Bible according to 
this pattern, w r ith the chapters divided into verses, and the verses so numbered ; and this 
example has been followed in all other editions that have been since put forth. So that, as the 
Jews borrowed the division of the books of the Holy Scriptures into chapters from the Chris- 
tians, in like manner the Christians borrowed that of the chapters into verses from the Jews. 
But, to this day, the Book of the Law, which is read by the Jews in their synagogues 
every Sabbath day, has none of these distinctions, that is, is not divided into verses as the 
Bibles are. 



OF THE BIBLE. 101 

The division of the Books of Scripture into Great and Little Sections does, without doubt, 
contribute much to the clearing up of their contents; and for this reason, as well as because 
they found it practised in the synagogues, the Christians also divided the books of the New 
Testament, into what the Greeks call Pericopes, that is, Sections, that they might be read in 
their order. Each of these Sections contained, under the same title, all the matters that had 
any relation to one another, and were solemnly read in the churches by the public readers, 
after the Deacons had admonished the faithful to be attentive to it, crying with a loud voice 
Attendamus, let vs attend. The name of Titles was given to these Sections, because each 
of them had its own Title. Robert Stephens, the famous printer, who died at Geneva in 1559, 
was the first who made the division of the chapters of the New Testament into verses, and for 
the same reason as Rabbi Nathan had done before him as to the Old Testament, that is, for 
the sake of a Concordance which he was then composing for the Greek Testament, and which 
was afterwards printed by Henry Stephens, his son, who gives this account of the matter in his 
preface to that Concordance. Since that time this division of the whole Bible by chapters and 
verses, and the quoting of all passages in them by the numbers of both, has grown into use 
generally ; so that not only all Latin Bibles, but all Greek ones also, as well as all that have 
been printed in any of the modern languages, have followed this division. They who most 
approve of the present division of the Bible into chapters and verses agree that a much more 
convenient one might be made ; as it often happens, that sentences which ought to be joined 
are divided, and others which ought to be separated are joined together. 

The respect which the Jews have for the sacred books, and which even degenerates into 
superstition, is one of their religious practices. Nothing can be added to the care they take 
in writing them. The books of the ancients were of a different form from ours ; they did not 
consist of several leaves, but of one or more skins of parchment sewn together, and fastened at 
the ends to rollers of wood, upon which they were rolled up ; so that a book, when thus closed, 
might easily be sealed in several places ; and such was the book mentioned in the Revelation, 
which St. John says was sealed with seven seals, and which no one but the Lion of the Tribe 
of Judah could open and exj)lain. 

The Hebrew MSS. of the Bibles are of two kinds — the rolled ones, or those used in the 
synagogues ; and the square ones, or those which are to be found in private collections. The 
rules laid down by the Jews, with respect to their MSS., have, undoubtedly, tended much to 
preserve the integrity of the text. They are directed to be written upon parchment, made from 
the skin of a clean animal, and to be tied together with strings of similar substance, or sewn 
with goat's hair, which has been spun and prepared by a Jewess. It must be likewise a Jew 
that writes the law, and they are extremely diligent and exact in it, because the least fault 
profanes the book. Every skin of parchment is to contain a certain number of columns, which 
are to be of a precise length and breadth, and to contain a certain number of words. They 
are to be written with the purest ink, and no word is to be written by heart, or with the points : 
it must first be orally pronounced by the copyist. The name of God is directed to be written 



102 OF THE BIBLE. 

with the utmost attention and devotion and the transcriber is to wash his pen before he inscribes 
it on the parchment. If there should chance to be a word with either a deficient or a redun- 
dant letter, or should any of the prosaic part of the Old Testament be written in verse, or 
vice versa, the MS. is vitiated. No Hebrew MS. with any illumination is, on any account, 
admitted into a synagogue, although private individuals are permitted to have them orna- 
mented for their own use ; but, in the illustrations, the resemblance of any animal denounced by 
the Jews as unclean cannot be admitted. Among the modern Jews, the Book of Esther, in 
particular, is frequently decorated with rude figures of various kinds ; but, with respect to this 
book, it must be observed, that owing to its wanting the sacred name of God, it is not held in 
such repute for holiness as the other books are. The MSS. for private use may be either upon 
parchment, vellum, or paper, and of various sizes. "There is," says Dr. Prideaux, " in the 
Church of St. Dominic, in Bononia, a copy of the Hebrew Scriptures, kept with a great deal 
of care, which they pretend to be the original copy, written by Ezra himself; and, therefore, it 
is there valued at so high a rate, that great sums of money have been borrowed by the Bono- 
nians upon the pawn of it, and again repaid for its redemption. It is written in a very fair 
character upon a sort of leather, and made up in a roll, according to the ancient manner; but 
it having the vowel-points annexed, and the writing being fresh and fair, without any decay, 
both these particulars prove the novelty of that copy. But such forgeries are no uncommon 
things among the Papistical sect."' 

To open and shut up the roll or book of the law, to hold it, and to raise and show it to the 
people, are three offices, which are sold, and bring in a great deal of money. The skins on 
which the law is written are fastened to two rollers, whose ends jut out at the sides beyond the 
skins, and are usually adorned with silver ; and it is by them that they hold the book, when they 
lift it up and exhibit it to the congregation, because they are forbidden to touch the book with 
their hands. All who are in the synagogue kiss it, and they who are not near enough to reach 
it with their mouths, touch the silken cover of it and then kiss their hands, and put the two 
fingers with which they touched it upon their eyes, which they think preserves the sight. They 
keep it in a cupboard, which supplies the place of the Ark of the Covenant, and they therefore 
call this cupboard Aron, which is the Hebrew name for the Ark ; and this is always placed at 
the east end of the synagogue. He who presides chooses any one whom he pleases to read and 
explain the Scripture, which was a mark of distinction ; as we see in the thirteenth chapter of 
the Acts, where we find the rulers of the synagogues desiring the Apostles, when they were 
in the synagogues, to make a discourse to the people. Ordinarily speaking, a Priest began, a 
Levite read on, and at last one of the people, whom the President chose, concluded. He who 
reads stands upright, and is not suffered so much as to lean against a wall. Before he begins, 
he says, with a loud voice, Bless ye God, and the congregation answer, Blessed be thou, O 
my God, blessed be thou for ever ; and when the lesson is ended, the book is rolled up and 
wrapped in a piece of silk. 

The Jews still retain so great a veneration for the Hebrew tongue, that they do not think it 



OF THE BIBLE. 



103 



lawful to use any other Bibles in the synagogues but such as are written in that language. 
This was what enraged them so much against the Hellenistic or Grcecisivg Jews, who read the 
Septuagint Greek version in their synagogues ; and so much were they grieved that this version 
was ever made, that they instituted a fast, in which they annually lament this as a misfortune. 
But because the Hebrew was, after the captivity, no longer the vulgar tongue, there was an 
interpreter in the synagogues, who explained to the people in the Chaldee, or common tongue, 
what was read to them in Hebrew. The use they made of the Scriptures, however, gave the 
people at least an imperfect knowledge of the Hebrew language. And thus we see that the 
Eunuch who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles could read Isaiah, and understand 
enough of it to form the question which he put to Philip, concerning the passage in the 
prophecy relating to Jesus Christ. 

The order and division of the Old and New Testaments, according to the disposition made 
by the Council of Trent, by Decree I. Section IV. are as follow, where we are to observe that 
those books to which the asterisks are prefixed are rejected by the Protestants as apocryphal. 

Genesis. 

Exodus. 

Leviticus. 

Numbers. 

Deuteronomy. 

Joshua. 

Judges and Ruth. 

1st Samuel or 1st. Kings. 

2nd Samuel or 2nd Kings. 

1st Kings, otherwise called 3rd Kings. 

2nd Kings, „ 4th Kings. 

1st Chronicles. 

2nd Chronicles. 

1st Esdras (as the LXX and Vulgate call it), or the Book of Ezra. 

2nd Esdras, or (as we have it) the Book of Nehemiah. 
*Tobit. 
* Judith. 

Esther. 

Job. 

Psalms. 

Proverbs. 

Eeclesiastes. 

Song of Solomon. 
*The Book of Wisdom. 
*Ecclesiasticus. 



104 



OF THE BIBLE. 



Isaiah, 

Jeremiah and *Baruch. 

Ezekiel. 

Daniel. 

Hosea. 

Joel 

Amos. 

Obadiah. 

Nahum (which we place immediately after Micah, before Habakkuk). 

Jonah (which we place immediately after Obadiah). 

Micah. 

Habakkuk. 

Zephaniah. 

Haggai. 

CIO 

Zechariah. 

Malachi. 
*1 Maccabees. 
*2 Maccabees. 

The Books of the New Testament are — 

' St. Matthew. 



The Gospels of 



The Acts of the Apostles. 



St. Mark. 
St. Luk; j . 
St. John. 



The Epistle of St. Paul to 



the Romans. 

,, Corinthians (1st). 

,, Corinthians (2nd). 

„ Galatians. 

,, Ephesians. 

„ Philippians. 

,, Colossians. 

,, Thessalonians (1st). 

„ Thessalonians (2nd). 

,, Timothy (1st). 

„ Timothy (2nd). 
Titus. 
Philemon, 
the Hebrews. 



OF THE BIBLE. 



105 



The general Epistle of . < 



St. James. 
St. Peter (1st). 
St. Peter (2nd). 
St. John (1st). 
St. John (2nd). 
St. John (3rd). 
St. Jude. 

The Revelation of St. John the Divine. 

The apocryphal books of the Old Testament, according to the Romanists, are the book of 
Enoch, (see Jude 14,) the 3rd and 4th books of Esdras, the 3rd and 4th books of Maccabees, 
the prayer of Manasses, King of Judah, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Psalter 
of Solomon, and some other pieces of this nature. 

The apocryphal books of the New Testament are, the epistle of St. Barnabas, the pretended 
epistle of St. Paul to the Laodiceans, several spurious gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and 
Revelations ; the book of Hermas, entitled the Shepherd, Jesus Christ's letter to Abgaras, 
the epistles of St. Paul to Seneca,- and several other pieces of the like nature, as may be seen 
in the collection of the apocryphal writings of the New Testament made by Fabricius. 

The books which are now lost, and cited in the Old Testament, are these : — the book of the 
wars of the Lord (Numbers xxi. 14) ; the annals of the Kings of Israel, so often quoted in the 
books of the Kings and Chronicles. The book of the Righteous, or of Jasher, as our version 
of the Bible has it (Joshua x. 13, and 2 Samuel i. 18), was supposed to be lost. 

The authors of these annals were the Prophets, who lived in the kingdoms of Judah and 
Israel. We have only a part of Solomon's three thousand Proverbs, and his thousand 
and five Songs (1 Kings iv. 32) ; and we have entirely lost what he wrote upon plants, 
animals, birds, fishes, and reptiles. 

Ezra, in the opinion of most learned men, published the Scripture in the Chaldee character ; 
for that language being grown wholly into use among the Jews, he thought proper to change 
the Hebrew character for it, which hath since that time been retained only by the Samaritans, 
among whom it is preserved to this day. 

Dr. Prideaux is of opinion that Ezra made additions in several parts of the Bible, where 
anything appeared necessary for illustrating, connecting, or completing the work, in which he 
appears to have been assisted by the same spirit in which they were first written. Among 
such additions are to be reckoned the last chapter of Deuteronomy, wherein Moses seems to 
give an account of his own death and burial, and the succession of Joshua after him. To the 
same cause our learned author thinks are to be attributed many other interpolations in the 
Bible, which created difficulties and objections to the authenticity of the sacred text, no ways 
to be solved without allowing them. Ezra changed the names of several places which were 
grown obsolete, and, instead of them, he put their new names, by which they were then called, 
in the text. Thus it is that Abraham is said to have pursued the kings who carried Lot away 

p 



106 



OF THE BIBLE. 



captive as far as Dan, whereas, that place in Moses' time was called Laish ; the name Dan 
being unknown till the Danites, long after the death of Moses, took possession of it. 

The Jewish canon of Scripture was then settled by Ezra, yet not so but that several 
variations have been made in it. Malachi, for instance, could not have been put in the Bible 
by him, since that prophet is allowed to have lived after him, nor could Nehemiah be there, 
as mention is made in that book of Jaddus, as being high priest, and of Darius Codomanus, 
King of Persia, who were at least a hundred years later than Ezra. It may be added, that in the 
first book of Chronicles, the genealogy of the sons of Zerubbabel is carried down for so many 
generations as must necessarily bring it to the time of Alexander ; and, consequently, this 
book could not possibly be in the canon in Ezra's days. It is more probable that the two 
books of the Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Malachi were adopted into the Bible 
in the time of Simon the Just, the last of the men of the great synagogue. The Jews, at 
first, were very reserved in communicating their Scripture to strangers; despising and shunning 
the Gentiles, they would not disclose to them any of the treasures concealed in the Bible. We 
may add, that the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Arabs, &c, nations bordering on the Jews, were 
not very curious to know the laws or history of a people, whom, in their turn, they hated and 
despised. Their first acquaintance with these books was not till after the several captivities of 
the Jews, when the singularity of the Hebrew laws and ceremonies induced many to desire a 
more particular knowledge of them. Josephus seems surprised to find such slight footsteps of 
the Scripture history interspersed in the Egyptian, Chaldean, Phoenician, and Grecian history, 
and accounts for it hence, that the sacred books were not as yet translated into Greek, or other 
languages, and consequently not known to the writers of those nations. 

The first version of the Bible was that of the Septuagint into Greek, in the time of Ptolemy 
Philadelphus, B.C. 284, though some maintain that the whole was not then translated, but only 
the Pentateuch ; between which and the other books in the version called of the Seventy, the 
critics find a great diversity in point of style and expression, as well as of accuracy. Of this 
important event take the account as given by Josephus. 

" Ptolemy Philadelphus, having been informed that the Jews had a book which contained 
the laws of Moses, and the history of that people, he was desirous to have it translated out of 
the Hebrew into the Greek language, that his library might be enriched with so valuable a 
performance. To accomplish this design, it was necessary for him to address the Jewish High 
Priest : in which he met with great difficulty, because a great number of Jews had been 
actually reduced to a state of slavery in Egypt, by Ptolemy Soter, his father, during the inva- 
sion of Judea in his time ; and it was represented to the king, that there would be no pro- 
bability of obtaining from that people either a copy, or a faithful translation of their law, 
while he suffered their countrymen to continue in servitude. Aristeus, Sosibius, and Andreas, 
three of his principal noblemen, advised Ptolemy to release all the Jewish captives, who 
amounted to 120,000 or thereabouts, upon which that monarch published an edict for their 
release, and issued an order, that a certain sum per head should be paid out of the public 



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107 



treasury to their masters, by way of indemnification for the loss of their slaves. The whole 
expense of redeeming the Jews of both sexes and of all ages amounted to 297,000/. sterling. 
Ptolemy then wrote a letter to Eleazar, the high priest of the Jews at Jerusalem, to send from 
thence a true copy of the Hebrew original book of the law of Moses, and with it six, out of 
the twelve tribes of Israel, to translate it into Greek. Aristeus and Andreas were sent with the 
letter to Jerusalem, and took with them likewise several gifts for the temple, to the value of 
495,000/. sterling. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received with the greatest 
testimony of joy, and their request was granted with the greatest readiness. In consequence of 
which, they soon returned to Alexandria, with an authentic copy of the Mosaic law, written in 
letters of gold upon skins of vellum, wonderfully thin and fine, the suture or conjunction of the 
several skins being so skilfully made as to be scarcely discoverable. [The sacred books thus 
written were rolled up into volumes (after the manner of the modern Pentateuchs used in the 
Jewish synagogues), as appears from a passage in St. Luke iv. 17, the Greek word 
anctj)tuxas, translated he opened, is allowed to imply he unfolded or unrolled the volume.] 
These rolls were given to Aristeus and Andreas by the High Priest himself ; and accompanied 
with six elders of each of the twelve tribes, being in the whole seventy-two elders, or inter- 
preters, who were authorised to translate the whole from the original Hebrew into the Greek 
language, they returned to Egypt." 

Ptolemy, on the arrival of the seventy-two elders at Alexandria, sent for them immediately 
to court, when he mede a trial of their knowledge and abilities, by proposing seventy-two 
different and difficult questions to them in their order, that is, one to each ; and from the 
answers which they made, he, approving of their wisdom, presented to each of them three 
talents, or 7501. sterling, amounting in the whole to 54,000/. The elders were then conducted 
to the isle of Pharos, and lodged in a house prepared for their reception, where they were 
plentifully supplied with all necessary accommodations. They applied themselves immediately 
to work, and completed the volume, which is commonly called the Septuagint version, in 
seventy-two days. They agreed in the version of each period, by common conference together ; 
after which, the whole was read over, and approved of in the presence of the king, who gave to 
each of them "three rich garments, two talents of gold (8,000/. sterling), and a cup of gold 
of a talent weight," with which they returned to Jerusalem. This version is still extant, and is 
the same which was in use in the time of our Blessed Saviour, as most of the passages quoted 
by the holy penmen of the New Testament are found verbatim in this version : it is still used 
in the Oriental churches, as it was by those of the primitive ages. 

It is here necessary to observe, that the most ancient and the best MS. of the Septuagint 
version now extant, is the Alexandrian copy which is in the King's library at St. James's, 
written all in capital letters, without the distinction of chapters, verses, or words. It was sent 
as a present to King Charles the First, of England, about 1630, by Cyrillus Lucaris, 
then patriarch of Constantinople, who had before been patriarch of Alexandria. He also sent 
an account of the book in a schedule annexed to it, written in Latin with his own hand, 

p 2 



108 



OF THE BIBLE. 



signifying that " This book of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as we 
have it by tradition, was written by the hand of Thecla, a noble Egyptian lady, above 1,300 
years ago, a little after the council of Nice." 

Hebrew Bibles are either manuscript or printed. The best manuscript Bibles are those 
copied by the Jews of Spain. Those copied by the Jews of Germany are less exact, but 1 
more common. The two kinds are easily distinguished from each other ; the former being in 
beautiful characters, like the Hebrew Bibles of Bomberg, Stephens, and Plantin ; the latter, 
in characters like those of Munster and Gryphius. . F. Simon observes that the oldest MS. 
Bibles in the Hebrew (in his time) were not more than 600 or 700 years old, nor does Rabbi 
Menaham, who quotes a vast number of them, pretend that any of them exceeded 600 years 
in his days. 

Dr. Kennicot, in his " Dissertatio Generalis," prefixed to his Hebrew Bible, p. 21, observes 
"That the most ancient MSS. were written between the years 900 and 1100; " but, though 
those that are the most ancient are not more than 800 or 900 years old, they were transcribed 
from others of a much more ancient date. The MS. preserved in the Bodleian library is not 
less than 900 years old. Another MS. not less ancient is preserved in the Caesarean library 
at Vienna. 

The most ancient printed Hebrew Bibles are those published by the Jews of Italy, especially 
of Pesaro and Bresse. Those of Portugal, also, printed some parts of the Bible at Lisbon, 
before their expulsion. This may be observed in the general, that the best Hebrew Bibles are 
those printed under the inspection of the Jews ; there being so many minutiae to be observed, 
that it is scarce possible for any other to succeed in it. 

In the beginning of the sixteenth century, Dan. Bomberg printed several Hebrew Bibles in 
folio and quarto at Venice, most of which are esteemed both by Jews and Christians ; the first 
bears date 1517, which is the least exact, and generally goes by the name of Felix Pratensis, 
the person who revised it. This edition contains the Hebrew text, the Targum, and the 
commentaries of several rabbins. In 1528, the same Bomberg printed the folio Bible of 
Rabbi Benchajim, with his preface, the Masoretical divisions, a preface by Aben Ezra, a double 
Masora, and several various readings. The third edition was printed in 1618 ; it is the same 
with the second, but much more correct. It was from the former editions that Buxtorf, the 
father, printed his rabbinical Hebrew Bible at Basil in 1619 ; which, though there are many 
faults in it, is more correct than any of the former. In 1623, there appeared at Venice a new 
edition of the rabbinical Bible by Leo, of Modena, a rabbin of that city, who pretended to have 
corrected a great number of faults in the former edition ; but, besides that it is much inferior to 
the other Hebrew Bibles of Venice, with regard to paper and print, it has passed through the 
hands of the inquisitors, who have altered many passages in the commentaries of the rabbins. 

As to Hebrew Bibles in quarto, that of R. Stephens is esteemed for the beauty of the 
characters ; but it is very incorrect. Plantin also printed several beautiful Hebrew Bibles at 
Antwerp; one, in eight columns, with a preface by Arias Montanus, in 1571, which far 



OF THE BTBLE. 



109 



exceeds the Complutensian, in paper and print, and contents : this is called the Royal Bible, 
because it was printed at the expense of Philip II. of Spain; another, at Geneva in 1619; 
besides many more of different sizes, with and without points. Manasseh Ben Israel, a learned 
Portuguese Jew, published two editions of the Hebrew Bible at Amsterdam ; the one in quarto 
in 1635; the other in octavo in 1639 : the first has two columns, and for that reason is very 
commodious to the reader. In 1639, R. Jac. Lombroso published a new edition in quarto at 
Venice, with small literal notes at the bottom of each page, where he explains the Hebrew 
words by Spanish words. This Bible is much esteemed by the Jews at Constantinople : in 
the text they have distinguished between words where the point camels is to be read with a 
camcts-katvph, that is, by o, and not an e. 

Of all the editions of the Hebrew Bible in octavo, the most beautiful and correct are the 
two of Jo. Athias, a Jew of Amsterdam. The first, of 1661, is the best paper, but that of 
1667 is the most exact ; that, however, published since at Amsterdam by Vander Hooght, in 
1705, is preferable to any of them. 

After Athias, three Hebraizing Protestants, viz., Clodius, Jablonski, and Opitius, engaged 
in revising and publishing the Hebrew Bible. Clodius's edition was published at Francfort, 
in 1677, in quarto. At the bottom of the page it. has the various readings of the former 
editions ; but the author does not appear sufficiently versed in the accenting, especially in the 
poetical books ; besides, as it was not published under his eye, many faults have crept in. 
That of Jablonski, in 1 699, in quarto, at Berlin, is very beautiful as to letter and print ; but, 
though the editor pretends that he made no use of the editions of Athias and Clodius, some 
critics find it scarcely in anything different from the quarto edition of Bomberg. That of 
Opitius is also in quarto at Keil, in 1709 ; the character is large and good, but the paper bad : 
it is done with a great deal of care, but the editor made use of no MSS. but those of the 
German libraries, neglecting the French ones, which is an omission common to all three. 
They have this advantage, however, that besides the divisions used by the Jews, both general 
and particular, into paraskes and pesukim, they have also those of the Christians, or of the 
Latin Bibles, into chapters and verses ; the keri ketib, or various readings, Latin summaries, 
&c, which made them of considerable use, with respect to the Latin editions and concordances. 

The little Bible of R. Stephens, in 1610, is very much prized for the beauty of the character. 
Care, however, must be taken; there being another edition of Geneva exceedingly like it, 
except that the print is worse, and the text less correct. To these may be added some other 
Hebrew Bibles without points, in 8vo and 24mo, which are much coveted by the Jews ; not 
that they are more exact, but more portable than the rest, and are used in their synagogues and 
schools. Of these, there are two beautiful editions, the one of Plantin, in 8vo., with two 
columns, and the other in 24mo., reprinted by Raphalengius, at Leyden, in 1610. There is 
also an edition of them by Laurens, at Amsterdam, in 1631, in a larger character; and 
another in 12mo., at Francfort, in 1694, full of faults, with a preface of M. Leiisden, at the 
head of it. 



110 



OF THE BIBLE. 



Houbigant published an elegant edition of the Hebrew Bible at Paris, in 1753, contained 
in four volumes folio. The text is that of Van der Hooght, without points, to which he has 
added marginal notes, supplying the variations of the Samaritan copy. Dr. Kennicott, after 
almost twenty years' laborious collation of near 700 copies, manuscript and printed, either of 
the whole or of particular parts of the Bible, did, in 1766, publish the first volume of the 
Hebrew Bible in foiio. The text is that of Everand Van der Hooght, already mentioned, 
differing from it only in the disposition of the poetical parts, which Dr. Kennicott has printed 
in hemistichs, into which they naturally divide themselves: however, the words follow one 
another in the same order as they do in the edition of Van der Hooght. This edition is 
printed with an excellent type ; the Samaritan text, according to the copy in the London 
Polyglot, is exhibited in a column parallel with the Hebrew text ; those parts of it only being 
introduced in which it differs from the Hebrew. The numerous variations both of the 
Samaritan MSS. from the printed copy of the Samaritan texts, and of the Hebrew MSS. 
from the printed texts of Van der Hooght, are placed separately at the bottom of the page, 
and marked with numbers referring to the copies from which they are taken. 

Greek Bibles. — There is a great number of editions of the Bible in Greek; but they may 
be all reduced to three or four principal ones, viz., that of Complutum, or Alcala de Henares, 
that of Venice, that of Rome, and that of Oxford. The first was published in 1515, by 
Cardinal Ximenes, and inserted in the Polyglot Bible, usually called the Complutensian 
Bible: this edition is not just, the Greek of the LXX being altered in many places according 
to the Hebrew text. It has, however, been reprinted in the Polyglot Bible of Antwerp, in 
that of Paris, and in the quarto Bible, commonly called Vantabluss Bible. 

The second Greek Bible is that of Venice, printed by Aldus, in 1518. Here the Greek 
text of the Septuagint is reprinted just as it stood in the MS. full of faults of the copyists, but 
easily amended. This edition was reprinted at Strasburg, in 1526; at Basil, in 1545; at 
Francfort, in 1597; and other places, with some alterations to bring it nearer the Hebrew. 
The most commodious is that of Francfort ; there being added to this little scholia, which 
show the different interpretations of the old Greek translations : the author of this collection 
has not added his name, but it is commonly ascribed to Junius. 

The third Greek Bible is that of Rome, or the Vatican, in 1587, with Greek scholia col- 
lected from the MSS. in the Roman libraries by Peter Morin. It was first set on foot by 
Cardinal Montalbo, afterwards by Pope Sextus Quintus. This fine edition has been reprinted 
at Paris, in 1628, by J. Morin, priest of the oratory, who has added the Latin translation, 
which in the Roman was printed separately with scholia. The Greek edition of Rome has 
been printed in the Polyglot Bible of London, to which are added, at bottom, the various 
readings of the Alexandrian MS. This has been also reprinted in England in 4to and 12mo, 
with some alterations. It has been again published at Franeker, in 1709, by Bos, who has 
added all the various readings he could find. 

The fourth Greek Bible is that done from the Alexandrian MS. bf"gun at Oxford, by Dr. 



OF THE BIBLE. 



Ill 



Grabe, in 1707. In this the Alexandrian MS. is not printed such as it is, but such as it was 
thought it should be, i. e., it is altered wherever there appeared any fault of the copyists, or 
any word inserted from any particular dialect : this some think an excellence, but others, a 
fault ; urging, that the MS. should have been given absolutely and entirely of itself, and all 
conjectures as to the readings ought to have been thrown into the notes. 

The modern Greeks have recently received the New Testament in their proper tongue, 
which is considerably different from that in which the sacred work was originally written. 
The edition is in the Hellenistic and Romaic dialects, and was printed in England under the 
direction of a society. It has been approved of by the Patriarch of the Greek church. 

Latin Bibles, how numerous soever, may all be reduced to three classes : the ancient. 
Vulgate, called also Italica, translated from the Greek Septuagint; the modern Vulgate, the 
greatest part of which is done from the Hebrew text ; and the Latin translations, done also 
from the Hebrew text in the sixteenth century. We have nothing remaining of the ancient 
Vulgate, used in the primitive times in the western churches, but the Psalms, Wisdom, and 
Ecclesiastes. Nobilius has endeavoured to retrieve it from the works of the ancient Latin 
fathers ; but it was impossible to do it exactly, because most of the fathers did not keep close 
to it in their citations. 

As to the modern Vulgate, there is a vast number of editions very different from each other. 
Cardinal Ximenes has inserted one in the Bible of Complutum, corrected and altered in many 
places. R. Stephens and the doctors of Louvain have taken great pains in correcting the 
modern Vulgate. 

The best edition of Stephens's Latin Bible is that of 1540, reprinted in 1545, in which are 
added, on the margin, the various readings of several Latin MSS. which he had consulted. 
The doctors of Louvain revised the modern Vulgate after R. Stephens; and added the various 
readings of several Latin MSS. The best of the Louvain editions are those at the end of 
which are added the critical notes of Francis Lucas, of Bruges. 

All these reformations of the Latin Bible were made before the time of Pope Sextus V 
and Clement VIII., since which people have not dared to make any alterations, except in 
comments and separate notes. The correction of Clement VIII., in 1592, is now the standard 
throughout all the Romish churches : that Pontiff made two reformations, but it is the first of 
them that is followed. From this the Bibles of Plantin were done, and from those of Piantin 
all the rest ; so that the common Bibles have none of the after corrections of the same 
Clement VIII. It is a heavy charge that lies on the editions of Pope Clement, viz., " That 
they have some new texts added, and many old ones altered, to countenance and confirm what 
they call the Catholic doctrine;" witness that celebrated passage of St. John, " Tres sunt," &c. 
(1 St. John v. 7 and 8) : " For there are three that hear record in Heaven, the Father, the 
Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are One. And there are three that bear witness- 
on Earth, the Spirit, and the water, and blood; and these three agree in one." There are 
a great number of Latin Bibles of the third class, comprehending the versions from the ori- 



112 



OF THE BIBLE. 



ginals of the sacred books made within these 300 years. The first is that of Sautes Pagninus, 
a Dominican, under the patronage of Pope Leo X., printed at Lyons in quarto, in 1 527, much 
esteemed by the Jews, it being very literal, and generally exact. Arias Montanus retouched it, 
and made it yet more literal, which correction being approved of by the doctors of Louvain, &c, 
was inserted in the Polyglot Bible of Philip II., and since that in London. There have been 
various editions of this in folio, quarto, and octavo ; to which have been added the Hebrew text 
of the Old Testament, and the Greek of the New. The best of them all is the first, which is in 
folio, 1571. In 1542 there was a beautiful edition of the above printed at Lyons, in folio, 
with scholia, published under the name of Michael Villanovanus, otherwise Michael Servetus, 
author of the scholia. Those of Zurich have likewise published an edition of Pagninus's Bible 
in quarto; and R. Stephens reprinted it in folio, with the Vulgate, in 1557, pretending to give 
it more correct than in the former editions. There is also another edition of 1586, in four 
columns, under the name of Vatablus ; and we find it again in the Hamburgh edition of the 
Bible in four languages. 

Since the Reformation there have been several Latin versions of the Bible from the originals 
by Protestants, and members of the Romish church. The most esteemed are those of Sebas- 
tian Munster, who published a literal but judicious translation at Basil, in 1534, which he 
afterwards revised, and in 1516 he published this corrected edition. Leo of Judah, who, 
though not a Jew, understood Hebrew extremely well, began one which has since been printed 
at Zurich ; but death having prevented him from finishing his work, Theodorus Bibliander 
completed it : this version, altered a little by the divines of Salamanca, was added to the ancient 
Latin edition as published by R. Stephens, with notes, under the name of Vatablus's Bible, 
in 1545. Castalio's fine Latin pleases most people ; but there are some who think it too 
much affected ; the best edition of which was printed in 1573. Emmanuel Tremellius, who of 
a Jew became a Christian, and Francis Junius, have conjointly given a Latin translation, which 
is preferred especially by the Calvinists, and has undergone a great number of editions. Beza 
has also furnished a translation which is very exact, and has been frequently reprinted. 

We may add a fourth class of Latin Bibles, comprehending the Vulgate edition corrected 
from the originals. The Bible of Isiodorus Clarus is of this number: that author, not being 
contented with restoring the ancient Latin copy, has corrected the translator in a great number 
of places, which he thought improperly rendered. Some Protestants have followed the same 
method ; and, among others, Andrew and Luke Osiander, who have each published a new 
edition of the Vulgate corrected from the originals. 

Oriental Bibles. — At the head of the Oriental versions of the Bible must be placed the 
Samaritan, as being the most ancient of all, though neither its age nor author have been yet 
ascertained; and admitting no more of the Holy Scriptures but the Pentateuch or five books 
of Moses. This translation is made from the Samaritan- Hebrew text, which is a little different 
from the Hebrew text of the Jews. This version has never been printed alone ; nor anywhere 
but in the Polyglots of London and Paris. 



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113 



Chaldee Bibles are only the glosses or expositions made by the Jews in the times when 
they spake the Chaldee tongue. These they call by the name of Targumim or "para- 
phrases," as not being any strict versions of the Scriptures. They have been inserted entire 
in the large Hebrew Bibles of Venice and Basil, but are read more commodiously in the 
Polyglots, being there attended with a Latin translation. 

Syriac Bibles. — There are extant two versions of the Old Testament in the Syriac lan- 
guage : one from the Septuagint, which is ancient, and made probably about the time of Con- 
stantine ; the other, called Antiquce et Simplex, made from the Hebrew, as some sup- 
pose, about the time of the Apostles. This version is printed in the Polyglots of London and 
Paris. In the year 1562, Widmanstadius printed the whole New Testament in Syriac, at 
Vienna, in a beautiful character : (after his, there were several other editions,) and it was 
inserted in the Bible of Philip II. with a Latin translation. Gabriel Lionita also published a 
beautiful Syriac edition of the Psalms at Paris in 1525, with a Latin interpretation. 

Arabic Bibles. — In the year 1516, Augustus Justinian, bishop of Nebio, printed at Genoa 
an Arabic version of the Psalter, with the Hebrew text and Chaldee paraphrase, adding Latin 
interpretations. There are also Arabic versions of the whole Scriptures in the Polyglots of 
London and Paris ; and we have an edition of the Old Testament entire, printed at Rome in 
1761 by order of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide ; but it is of little esteem, as having 
been altered agreeably to the Vulgate edition. The Arabic Bibles among us are not the same 
with those used, in the East, by the Christians. Some learned men take the Arabic version 
of the Old Testament printed, from the Septuagint, in the Polyglot, to be that of Rabbi 
Saadis Gam, an Arabian Jew who lived about the year 900. Their reason is, that Aben 
Ezra, a great antagonist of the Rabbi Saadis Gam, quotes some passages of his version, which 
are the same as those in the Arabic version of the Polyglots ; yet others are of opinion that 
Saadis's version is not extant. In 1622 Erpenius printed an Arabic Pentateuch, called also 
the Pentateuch of Mauritania, as being made by the Jews of Barbary, and for their use. This 
version is very literal, and is esteemed very exact. The four Evangelists were also translated 
by Risius, a monk of Damascus, and published in Arabic, with a Latin version, at Rome, in 
folio, in the year 1591. These have since been reprinted in the Polyglots of London and 
Paris, with some slight alterations by Gabriel Sonita. Erpenius published an Arabic New 
Testament entire, as he found it in his MS. copy, at Leyden, in 1616. 

There are some other Arabic versions of late date mentioned by Walton in his Prolego- 
mena ; particularly a version of the Psalms preserved in Sion College, London, and another 
of the Prophets at Oxford ; neither of which have been published to our knowledge. 

Turkish Bibles. — The Turks have likewise some translations in MS. of the Bible in their 
language. In 1666 a Turkish New Testament was printed at London, for the purpose of 
being dispersed in the East. It is mentioned, that in 1721, the Grand Seignor ordered an 
impression of Bibles to be produced at Constantinople, that they might be confronted with 
the Koran, or Bible of the Mahomedans. In the Reports of the British and Foreign Bible 

Q 



114 



OF THE BIBLE. 



Society for 1815, it is mentioned, that a Turkish translation in MS. of the whole Bible had 
been discovered in the repositories of the University of Leyden, where it had remained for a 
century and a half. The author of this translation was by birth a Pole, of the name of 
Albertus Boboosky, and born in the beginning of the 17th century. When a youth, he was 
stolen by the Tartars, and being sold by them to the Turks in Constantinople, he was by 
them educated in the Mahomedan faith. His name was changed to Hali Bey, and when he 
grew up, he was constituted chief dragoman or translator to Mahomed the Fourth. The 
learning of Hali Bey was considerable. He understood seventeen different languages, and he 
is said to have spoken in French, German, and English, like a native. He was particularly 
fond of the English language, and, at the request of the Hon. R. Boyle, translated the 
Church of England Catechism into Turkish. He also composed different works himself, 
several of which have been published. His chief work, however, is his translation of the whole 
Bible into the Turkish language, which was undertaken at the instigation and under the 
direction of the famous Levin Warner, Dutch ambassador at the court of the Sultan at that 
period; and the translation appears to have been completed about the year 1666, the same year 
in which Seaman's translation of the New Testament into Turkish was published at Oxford. 

Armenian Bibles. — The Armenians have a translation of die Old Testament, done from 
the Septuagint, by Moses Grammaticus, and two others about 1400 years ago. In 1666, 
under the direction of an Armenian Bishop, it was printed at Amsterdam, corrected or cor- 
rupted from the Vulgate. Theodorus Patreus procured an impression of an Armenian New 
Testament at Antwerp in 1668, and of the whole Bible in 1690. In 1815, the Armenian 
Bible, in quarto, for the accommodation of the Armenian inhabitants of Russia, who subscribed 
liberally for the undertaking, was printed at St. Petersburgh. The Armenians are scattered 
all over Asia. 

Georgian Bibles. — The Georgians have the Bible in their ancient language, but that 
being; now almost obsolete, and themselves, in general, brutishly ignorant, few of them can 
either read or understand it. There has never been, till lately, but one edition of the Georgian 
Bible ; it was printed at Moscow, in 1743, in a large folio volume. 

Copthic Bibles. — There are several MS. copies of the Copthic Bible in some of the great 
libraries, especially in that of the French King. Dr. Wilkins published the Copthic New 
Testament in 4to. in the year 1716, and in 1731, the Pentateuch in 4to. also, with Latin 
translations. He supposes these versions to have been made in the end of the second, or 
beginning of the third, century. 

Ethiopic Bibles. — The Ethiopians have also translated the Bible into their language. 
There have been printed separately, the Psalms, Canticles, some chapters of Genesis, Ruth, 
Joel, Jonah, Zephaniah, Malachi, and the New Testament ; all of which have since been 
reprinted in the Polyglot of London. As to the Ethiopic New Testament, which was first 
printed at Rome in 1548, it is a very inaccurate work, and is reprinted in the English Polyglot 
with all its faults. 



OF THE BIBLE. 



115 



Persian Bibles. — Some of the fathers seem to say that all the Scripture was formerly 
translated into the language of the Persians ; but we have nothing now remaining of the 
ancient version, which was certainly done from the Septuagint. The Persians have some MS. 
versions of the Bible. Rabbi Jacob Favos, a Jew, translated the Pentateuch into Persian, 
and the Jews printed it at Constantinople in 1546. This, with the Gospels, translated by one 
Simon, a Christian, are inserted in the London Polyglot ; but these Gospels are far from being 
correct. Wilton informs us that this version was written above 450 years ago, and published 
with a Latin translation. Another version of the Gospels was published at Cambridge by 
Wheloc in the 17th century : there are also two Persian versions of the Psalms made in the 
17th century from the vulgar Latin. There have been several other Persian versions of the 
Psalms and the New Testament executed in modern times, particularly the New Testament 
by Henry Martyn, the celebrated English missionary, translated by him in the city of Shiraz 
in Persia, and printed at St. Petersburgh in 1815. 

Gothic Bibles. — It is generally believed, that Ulphilas, a Gothic bishop, who lived in the 
fourth century, made a version of the whole Bible, excepting the book of Kings, for the use of 
his countrymen. That book, however, he omitted, because of the frequent mention therein 
of the wars ; as fearing to inspire too much of the military genius into that people. We have 
nothing remaining of this version, but the four Evangelists printed at Dort, in 1665, in quarto, 
from a yery ancient MS. Notwithstanding, towards the end of the 16th century, Junius pro- 
fessed to publish an edition of it, from a MS. found in the abbey of Verdun, written in letters 
of silver. An anonymous version was printed at Nuremberg in 1447. Between 1521 and 
1532, Luther composed his translation, but Michaelis, La Croze, and Bayer think this was 
not from the Gothic version of Ulphilas, but one about 200 years later ; he published it in 
seven parts, as it was ready. Some persons of quality, masters of the German language, 
revised it. Two Catholic versions, the one of Eckius on the Old, and Emzer on the New 
Testament, and another of Ulembergius, of Westphalia, procured by Ferdinand Duke of 
Bavaria, and printed in 1630 to depress the credit of Luther's ; but the Protestants of Germany 
and Switzerland still use it, a little corrected. About 1604, Piscator turned the Latin transla- 
tion of Junius and Tremellius into a kind of German, but too much Latinized, and not at all 
agreeable to the genius of the German language. About 1680, Athias published a Hebrew- 
German translation of the Old Testament, for the sake of his Jewish brethren, and Jekuthiel 
another ; but both, especially the latter, distorted several texts relative to the Messiah, &c. 
The German Bibles which have been printed in Saxony, Switzerland, and elsewhere, are for 
the most part the same with that of Luther, with very little variation. The Anabaptists have 
a German Bible printed at Worms in 1529. John Crellius published his version of the New 
Testament at Racovia in 1630 ; and Felbinger his at Amsterdam in 1660. 

During the continuance of the Roman empire in Europe, the reading of the Holy Scriptures 
in the Latin tongue, which was the universal language of that empire, prevailed everywhere. 
But since the face of affairs in Europe has been changed, and so many different monarchies 

q 2 



) 



116 



OF THE BIBLE. 



erected upon its ruins, the Latin tongue has by degrees grown into disuse : from whence has 
arisen a necessity of translating the Bible into the respective language of each people ; and this 
has produced as many different versions of the Scriptures in the modern languages, as there are 
different nations professing the Christian religion. Hence we meet with French, Italian, 
Spanish, German, (see Gothic,) Flemish, Dutch, Sclavonian, Polish, Bohemian, and Russian 
or Muscovite Bibles ; besides the Anglo-Saxon, and modern English, Welsh, Irish and Erse 
Bibles. 

French Bibles. — The oldest French Bible we hear of is the version of Peter de Vaux, 
chief of the Waldenses, who lived about the year 1160. Another version was published in 
1290 ; and in 1380 Raoul de Presle translated the Bible into French in the reign of Charles V. 
king of France. Besides these there are several old translations in French of particular 
parts of the Scriptures. The Doctors of Louvain published the Bible in French at Louvain by 
order of the Emperor Charles V. in 1550. There is a version by Isaac le Maitre de Sacy, 
published in 1672, with explanations of the literal and spiritual meanings of the text, which 
was received with wonderful applause, and has been often reprinted. As to the New Testa- 
ments in French, which have been printed separately, one of the most remarkable is that of F, 
Amelotte of the oratory, composed by the direction of some French prelates, and printed with 
annotations in 1666, 1667 and 1670. The author pretends he had heen at the pains of search- 
ing all the libraries in Europe, and of collating the oldest MSS. But in examining his work, 
it appears that he has produced no considerable various readings, which had not been taken 
notice of before, either in, the London Polyglot or elsewhere. The New Testament of Mons, 
done from the Vulgate, and printed in 1665, with the permission of the Archbishop of Cambray, 
and the licence of the King of Spain, made a great noise in the world. It was condemned by 
Pope Clement IX. in 1668, and by Pope Innocent XI. in 1679, and in several bishoprics 
in France at various times. The New Testament published at Trevoux in 1702 by F. Simon, 
with literal and critical annotations upon difficult passages, was condemned by the bishops of 
Paris and Meaux, the same year in which it was published. F. Bohours, a Jesuit, with the 
assistance of F. F. Michael Tellier, and Peter Bernier, both Jesuits, published a translation 
of the New Testament in 1697 ; but this translation is, for the most part, harsh and obscure, 
which was owing to the author having kept too strictly to the Latin text from which he trans- 
lated. 

There are also other French translations of the Bible published by Protestant authors. 
Faber Stapalensis translated the New Testament into French, which was revised and accom- 
modated to the uses of the reformed churches in Piedmont, and printed in 1534. Next year 
Robert. Peter Olivetan's Bible was published at Geneva, and it has since been often reprinted 
with the corrections of John Calvin and others; it is now a work of considerable exactness. 
Another Bible was published by Sebastian Castalio, remarkable for particular ways of expres- 
sion never used by good judges of the language. After some struggling with the French 
Protestant clergy, John Diodati published a French Bible at Geneva in 1644; but some found 



OF THE BIBLE. 



117 



fault with his method, in that, like as in his Italian and Latin versions, he rather paraphrases 
the text than translates it. Lastly M. John Le Clerc published a New Testament in French 
at Amsterdam in 1703, with annotations taken chiefly from Grotius and Hammond, but the 
use of this version was prohibited in Holland, by order of the States-General, as tending to 
revive the errors of Sabellius and Socinus. La Cene published another, which shared the 
same fate on account of its fancies and erroneous style of composition. 

Italian Bibles. — The first Italian Bible published by the Romanists is that of Nicholas 
Malerme a Benedictine monk, printed at Venice in 1471 ; it was translated from the Vulgate. 
The version of Anthony Bruccioli, published at Venice in 1530 or 1532, was prohibited by the 
Council of Trent. The Calvinists have likewise their Italian Bibles : there is one of the 
celebrated John Diodati in 1607, and with corrections in 1641, and another of Maximus 
Theophilus in 1551, dedicated to Francis de Medicis, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Jews 
of Italy have no entire version of the Bible in Italian ; the inquisition, that diabolical scourge 
to humanity, constantly refusing to allow them the liberty of printing one. 

Spanish Bibles. — The first Spanish Bible that we have on record is that mentioned by 
Cyprian de Valera, which he says was published about the year 1500, but the author's name 
is unknown. The Epistles and Gospels were published in that language by Ambrose de 
Montesin in 1512 ; the whole Bible by Cassiodore de Reyna, a Calvinist in 1569 ; and the 
New Testament, dedicated to the emperor Charles V, by Francis Euzinas, otherwise called 
Driander in 1543. The first, Bible which was printed in Spanish for the use of the Jews was 
that printed atFerrarain 1553, in Gothic characters, and dedicated to Hercules d'Este, Duke 
of Ferrara. This version is very ancient, and was, most probably, in use among the Jews of 
Spain before Ferdinand and Isabella expelled them out of their dominions in 1492. 

Flemish Bibles. — The Flemish, or Dutch Bibles, translated by the Roman Catholics, are 
very numerous, and for the most part have no authors' names prefixed to them, till that of 
Nicholas Vinck, printed at Louvain in 1548. The Flemish versions made use of by the 
Calvinists till the year 1637 were copied principally from that of Luther. But the Synod of 
Dort having in 1618 appointed a new translation of the Bible into Flemish, deputies were 
named for the work, which was not finished till the year 1637. 

Danish Bibles. — The first Danish Bible was published by Peter Palladius, Olaus 
Chrysostom, John Synningius, and John Maccabaeus, in 1550, in which they followed Luther's 
first German version. There are two other versions, the one by John Paul Resenius, Bishop of 
Zealand, in 1605 ; the other being the New Testament only by John Michel in 1524, as also 
a version in the Icelandic tongue. 

Swedish Bibles. — In 1534 Olaus and Lawrence published a Swedish Bible from Luther's 
version; which was revised in 1617, by order of King Gustavus Adolphus, and was after- 
wards almost universally received. The translation into the language of Finland is thought to 
have been done from it. 



118 



OF THE BIBLE. 



\ 



Bohemian, Polish, Russian, or Muscovite and Sclavonian Bibles : — 
About 1506, the Bohemian Taborites published a Bible in their language, done from the 
Vulgate. In the end of the 16th century, eight Bohemian divines, after a careful study of the 
original languages, at Wirtemberg and Basil, translated a Bible from the original text. It 
was printed in Moravia in the year 1539. 

The first Polish version of the Scriptures, it is said, was that composed by Hadewich, wife 
of Jagellon, Duke of Lithuania, who embraced Christianity in 1390. In 1599 there were three 
other versions published at Cracow, one of which was the work of several divines of that nation, 
in which James Wieck, a Jesuit, had a principal share ; and the two others by the Socinians. 
The Protestants, in 1596, published a Polish Bible from Luther's German version, which they 
dedicated to Uladislas IV. King of Poland. 

The Russians or Muscovites published the Bible in the Sclavonic language in 1581. It 
was translated by the Greek by St. Cyril, the apostle of the Sclavonians ; but this old version 
being too obscure, Ernest Gluk, who had been carried prisoner to Moscow, after the taking of 
Narva, undertook a new translation of the Bible in Sclavonian: but he dying in 1705, the Czar 
Peter appointed some of his most learned clergy to finish the tvork ; and it is supposed that 
the Bibles distributed by Imperial authority about 1722 were of this translat ion. In the course 
of two hundred and sixty-years from the time when printing was first introduced into Russia, 
no more than twenty-two editions of the Sclavonian Bible had appeared, prior to the year 1815, 
consisting of about fifty thousand copies only. 

East Indian Bibles. — The Bible, or at least portions of it, principally by the labours of the 
missionaries at Serampore, are now printed in nearly Forty Indian languages, and are also to be 
found in Tartar, inCalmuc, and in Chinese. Upon the whole, out of the 3064 languages which 
are said to exist in the world, the Bible is now to be found in one hundred and thirty nine. 

West Indian Bible. — A translation of the Bible into the North American Indian language 
by Elliott was published in quarto at Cambridge in 1685. 



ENGLISH VERSIONS. 

When we inquire into the versions of the Bibles of our own country, we shall find that Adelm 
bishop of Sherburn, who lived in 709, made an English-Saxon version of the Psalms; and that 
Eadfrid, or Ecbert, bishop of Lindisferne, who lived about the year 730, translated the other 
parts of the Scriptures into the same language. It is said, likewise, that Venerable Bede, the 
first ecclesiastical Euglish historian, who was born at Jarrow, on the banks of the Tyne, in 673, 
and who died 26th May, 735, translated the whole Bible into Saxon : but, Cuthbert, Bede's 
disciple, in the enumeration of his master's works, speaks only of his translation of the gospels ; 



OF THE BIBLE. 



119 



and says nothing of the rest of the Bible. Some pretend that King* Alfred about the year 
890 ordered the whole Bible to be translated into the Anglo-Saxon, and that he himself 
undertook a version of the Psalms, but died before it was completed (28 Oct. 900). The next 
complete translation of the whole Bible, including the Apocryphal books, was made by John 
Wickliffe into English from the Latin, and appeared between 1360 and 1380. This translation 
was written but not printed ; and great objections were made to it by the clergy ; so that in 
consequence of a decree of Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, many persons were committed 
to the flames for reading Wickliffe's translation of the Old and New Testament. The only 
portion of Wickliffe's version of the Scriptures which has ever appeared in print is the New 
Testament, published in 1731, by the Reverend John Lewis, minister of Margate in Kent. 
This was reprinted several years ago, with a life of this earliest of reformers, by the Rev. H. 
Baber, A.M., assistant librarian at the British Museum. For the gratification of our young 
readers, we shall transcribe the Lord's Prayer in Wickliffe's language, as a curious specimen 
of the orthography of the times in which this great reformer lived : — " Our Fadir that art in 
hevenys ; halewid be thi name. Thi kyngdom come to, be tin wil done in erthe as in hevene. 
Give to us this day our breede ouir other substaunce. And forgiue to us our dettis as we for- 
given to our dettouris. And lede us not into temptacioun, but delyvere us from yvel. Amen." 
We find an old version in the Anglo-Saxon of several books of the Bible made by Elfric, abbot 
of Malmsbury : it was published at Oxford in 1699. There is an old Anglo-Saxon version 
of the four gospels, published by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1571, the 
author whereof is unknown. Dr. Mill observes that this version was made from a Latin copy 
of the old Vulgate. In 1398 J. de Trevisa is also said to have translated the whole Bible ; 
but whether any copies are remaining does not appear. 

Tyndale's. — In the year 1525, in the reign of Henry VIII. of England, William Tyndale 
published the first printed translation of the New Testament, (from the press of Hamburgh or 
Antwerp,) which was dispersed at London and Oxford : but most of the copies were bought 
up, and burnt, by Bishop Tunstal and Sir Thomas More at St. Paul's Cross. The vendors 
were condemned by the Star Chamber to ride with their faces to the horses' tails, with papers 
on their heads, and with copies they had sold tied about them, to the standard at Cheapside, 
where they were compelled to throw the books into the fire. This publication was revised 
and republished by Tyndale in 1550. The prologues and prefaces added to it reflected on the 
bishops and clergy ; but this edition was suppressed and most of the copies burnt. The 
price, however, enabled Tyndale to proceed, and, undismayed, he and his associates, in 1553, 
finished the whole Bible except the Apocrypha, and it was printed abroad, but while he was 

* Take the following as a specimen of the Saxon language, it being the Lord's Prayer translated from the Greek 
by Alfred: — 

" Feeder ure thu the earth on heafenum, si thin nuaun gehalgod to be cume thin rice Gewurthe hiii wills on 
earthen swa swa on heafenum urne ge daegwanlican hlaf syle us to daeg, and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgivath 
urum gyltendum and ne geladde thu us on consenung ac alyse us of yfle (si it swa)." — Medulla Histories Anglicance. 



120 



OF THE BIBLE. 



afterwards preparing a second edition, he was seized in Flanders, and, having heen strangled 
by the common hangman, his body was consumed to ashes for reputed heresy. 

Previous to the Reformation in the time of Henry VIII., people were so little acquainted 
with the Scriptures, and so ignorant even in regard to the languages in which they were 
originally written, that the strangest assertions were made. Upon the appearance of the 
Scriptures in the Hebrew and Greek originals, some individuals exclaimed that " There was 
now a new language called Greek, of which people should beware, since it was that which 
produced all heresies : that in this language was come forth a book called the Neiv Testament, 
which was now in every body's hands, and was full of briars and thorns. And they had also 
another language now started up which they called Hebrew, and they who learned it. were 
called Hebrews." When the reformation in England first took place, efforts were made to 
promote the reading of the Scriptures among the common people. Among other devices for 
the purpose, the following curious one was adopted. Bonner, bishop of London, caused six 
Bibles to be chained to certain convenient places in St. Paul's church, for all that were so well 
inclined to resort thither, together with a certain admonition to the readers, fastened upon the 
pillars to which the Bibles were chained, to this tenor : — 

" That whosoever came there to read should prepare himself to be edified and made the 
better thereby ; that he should bring with him discretion, honest intent, charity, reverence, 
and quiet behaviour ; that there should no number meet together there as to make a multitude ; 
that no such exposition be made thereupon but what is declared in the book itself ; that it be 
not read with noise in time of divine service, or that any disputation or contention be used about 
it; that in case they continued their former misbehaviour, and refuse to comply with these 
directions, the king would be forced, against his will, to remove the occasion, and take the 
Bibles out of the church." 

Matthews. — After Tyndale's death, his work was carried on by Coverdale and John 
Rogers, (superintendant of an English church in Germany, and the first martyr in the reign of 
Queen Mary,) who translated the Apocrypha, and revised Tyndale's translation, comparing it 
with Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German and Dutch ; and adding prefaces and notes from Luther's 
Bible. Archbishop Cranmer also assisted in correcting the text. He dedicated the whole to 
Henry VIII. in 1537, under the borrowed name of Thomas Matthews, whence this has been 
usually called Matthews' Bible. It was printed at Hamburg, and license obtained for publish- 
ing it in England by the favour of Archbishop Cranmer and the bishops Latimer and Shaxton. 

The 4th of October, 1838, was the three hundred and third anniversary of the publication of 
the first entire Protestant English version of the Bible, that important work having been accom- 
plished by Myles Coverdale, bishop of Exeter, in the reign of Henry VIII. We extract from 
the Protestant Memorial by the Rev. T. H. Home, the following account of his remarkable 
undertaking. 

" In the year 1535, this most valuable present to the English Protestants was completed 



OF THE BIBLE. 



121 



abroad,, under the direction of Myles Coverdale, a man greatly and deservedly esteemed for 
piety, knowledge of the Scriptures, and diligent preaching, on account of which qualities King 
Edward the Sixth advanced him to the see of Exeter. This first translation of the whole 
Bible ever printed in English is generally called " Coverdale's Bible ;" it is a folio volume, 
and, from the appearance of the types, it is now generally considered to have been printed at 
Zurich, in the printing office of Christopher Froschover. The following is the title-page of 
this extremely rare and curious volume : — 

" Biblia. The Bible, that is, the Holy Scripture of the Olde and New Testament, 
faithfully and truly translated out of the Douche and Latyn into Englishe. 

M.D.XXXV." 

This translation is dedicated to King Henry the Eighth, whom Coverdale in his dedication 
honestly tells, that the Pope gave him the title of Defender of the Faith, " Onlye because 
his highness suffered his bishops to burne God's word, the root of faith, and to persecute the 
lovers and ministers of it :" but at the same time he intimates his conviction that this title will 
prove a prophecy, that " By the righteous administration of his Grace the faith shall be so 
defended that God's word, the mother of faith, should have its free course thorow all 
Christendome, but especially in his Grace's realme." As to the translation itself, he observes, 
in his dedication and epistle to the reader, that it was " Neither his labour nor his desire to 
have this work put into his hand; but when others were moved by the Holy Ghost to under- 
take the cost of it, he was the more bold to engage in the execution of it." Agreeably therefore 
to desire, he set forth, " this special" translation, not in contempt of other men's translation, 
or by way of reproving them, but humbly and faithfully following his interpreters, and that 
under correction. Of these, he said, he used five different ones, who had translated the Scrip- 
tures not only into Latin, but also the Dutch. He further declared, that he had neither 
wrested nor altered so much as one word for the maintenance of any manner of sect, but had 
with a clear conscience purely and faithfully translated out of the foregoing interpreters, having 
only before his eyes the manifest truth of the Scriptures. But because such different transla- 
tions, he saw, were apt to offend weak minds, he added, that there came more understanding 
and knowledge of the Scripture by these sundry translations than by all the gloss of sophistical 
doctors: and he therefore desires that offence might not be taken because one, translated 
" scribe," and another, " lawyer," one, " repentance," and another, " penance," or, " amend- 
ment." 

The following specimen contains the nineteenth Psalm (conformably to the numeration in 
the Hebrew Bibles) as translated by Coverdale, by whom it is numbered XVIII., according 
to the order found in the Septuagint Greek, and in the Latin Vulgate versions : — 



122 



OF THE BIBLE. 



"TheXVIIJ. A PSALM OF DAUID. 

The very heaues declare the glory off" 
God, ad the very firmamet sheweth 
his hadye worke. One daye telleth 
another, and one night certifieth another. 
There is nether speach ner laguage, but the 
ir voyces are herde anioge the. Their sou- 
de is gone out into all londes, and their wor- 
des into the endes of the worlde. 

In the hath he sett a tabernacle for y c So 
ne, which coeth forth as a brydegrome out 
of his chambre, and reioyseth as a giaunte to ru 
ne his course. It goeth forth fro the one en 
de of the heauen, and runneth aboute vnto 
the same ende agayne, and there maye no ma hy 
de himself fro the heate thereof. The lawe 
of the Lorde is a perfecte lawe, it, quicke 
neth the soule. The testimony of the Lorde 
is true, and creueth wisdome euen vnto babes. 
The statutes of the Lorde are right, and re- 
ioyse the herte : y c comaundemet of y" Lorde 
is pure, and geueth light vnto the eyes. 

The feare of the Lorde is cleene, and endu 
reth for euer : the judgmentes of the Lorde 
are true and rigtuous altogether. More 
pleasunt are they then golde, yee then moch 
fyne golde, sweter then hony and the honey com 
be. These thy seruant keepeth, and for kepin- 
ge of them there is greate rewarde. Who 
can tell, how oft he offendeth ? Oh clese thou 
me fro my secrete fautes. Keep thy seruau- 
te also from presumptuous synnes, lest they 
get the dominion ouer me : so shal I be vnde 
fyled and innocet fro the greate offence. Yee 
the wordes of my mouth and the mediatacio of 
my herte shal be acceptable vnto the, o Lor 
de, mv helper and my redemer." 



OF THE BIBLE. 



123 



From Coverdale's dedication to Henry VIII., it seems probable that his translation was 
permitted to be read by the people ; for in the year 1536, shortly after it was printed, a royal 
injunction was issued to the clergy to provide a book " of the whole Bible, both in Laten, and 
also in English, and lay the same in the quire for everye man that will to loke and reade 
theron," in every parish church; which was certainly equivalent to an express approbation o( 
Coverdale's Bible, as there was no other at that time extant in English. Dr. Geddes (Prospectus 
for anew Translation, p. 88) says of this translation, " From Genesis to the end of Chronicles, 
and the book of Jonah, are by Tyndal ; the rest of the Old Testament by Coverdale. The 
whole New Testament is Tyndal's." But from the collation of Lewis, it is evident that 
Coverdale corrected Tyndal's translation. Fulke (Defence of the English Translation of the 
Bible) relates that " When Coverdale's translation was finished, and presented to Henry, he 
gave it to Bishop Gardiner and some others to examine. They kept it so long, that at last 
Henry had to call for it himself. When they delivered the book, he demanded their opinion 
of the translation." They answered, " That there were many faults in it." " Well," said the 
king, " but are there any heresies mentioned in it?'' They replied " There were no heresies 
they could find." " If there be no heresies,'' said Henry, " then in God's name let it go 
abroad among our people." 

Coverdale called his version a " special" translation, because it was different from the former 
English translations : its noble simplicity, perspicuity, and purity of style are truly astonishing. 
It is divided into six tomes or parts, adorned with wooden cuts, and furnished with Scripture 
references in the margin. The last page has these words : " Prynted in the yeare of our 
Lorde m.d.xxxv. and fynished the fourth daye of October." Of this Bible there was another 
edition in a large 4to., 1550, which was republished with a new title, 1553; and these, 
according to Lewis, were all the editions of it which were ever published. Copies of Cover- 
dale's version of the Bible are preserved in the following libraries, viz. : Of the British Museum 
and Sion College in London ; of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth ; in the 
public library at Cambridge ; in the library at All Souls College, and in the Bodleian Library, 
at Oxford ; and in the library of the Baptist Academy, at Bristol. 

Cranmer's. — The first Bible printed by authority in England, and publicly set up in 
churches, was the same Tyndal's version, revised, compared with the Hebrew, and in many 
places amended, by Miles Coverdale, afterwards Bishop of Exeter ; and examined after him 
by Archbishop Cranmer, who added a preface to it, whence this was called Cranmers Bible. 
It was printed by Grafton, of the largest volume, and published in 1540; and, by a royal 
proclamation, every parish was obliged to set one of the copies in their church, under the 
penalty of 40 shillings a-month ; yet, two years after, the Popish Bishops obtained its sup- 
pression of the King. It was restored under Edward VI., suppressed again under Queen 
Mary; again restored in the first year of Queen Elizabeth, and a new edition of it given in 
1652. 

Geneva. — Some English exiles at Geneva during the persecution in Mary's time, viz. 

r2 



124 



OF THE BIBLE. 



Coverdale, Goodman, Gilbie, Sampson, Whittingham, Cole, and Knox, made a new translation 
of the Old Testament, which was printed there in J 560, the New Testament having been 
printed in 1557 ; hence the Geneva Bible, containing the variations of readings, marginal 
annotations, &c, on account of which it was very much valued by the Puritan party in that and 
the following years. 

Bishops'. — The Bishops being displeased with the Geneva edition, Archbishop Parker 
resolved on a new translation for the public use of the church, and engaged the Bishops and 
other learned men, to take each a share or portion. These being afterwards joined together, 
and printed with short annotations in 156S in a large folio, made what was called afterwards 
The Great English Bible, and, commonly, The Bishops' Bible. The following year it 
was published in 8vo. in a small but fine black letter ; and here the chapters were divided into 
verses, but without any breaks for them, in which the method of the Geneva Bible was followed, 
which was the first English Bible where any distinction of verses was made. It was afterwards 
printed in large folio, with corrections, and several prolegomena, in 1572 ; this is called 
Matthew Parker's Bibt.f. The initial letters of each translator's name were put at the end 
of his part : e. g. at the end of the Pentateuch, W. E. for William Exon, or, William Bishop of 
Exeter, whose portion ended there ; at the end of Samuel, R. M. for Richard Menevensis, or 
Bishop of St. David's, to whom the second allotment fell ; and the like of the rest. The Arch- 
bishop overlooked, directed, examined, and finished the whole. This translation was used in 
the churches for 40 years, though the Geneva Bible was more read in private houses, being 
printed above 30 times in 30 years. King James bore it an inveterate hatred on account of the 
notes, which at the Hampton Court Conference he charged as partial, untrue, seditious, &c. The 
Bishops' BiLle too had its faults. The king frankly owned that he had as yet seen no good 
translation of the Bible in English ; but he thought that of Geneva was the worst of all. 

Rheimish. — After the translation of the Bible by the Bishops, two other private versions 
were made of the New Testament : the first by Laurence Thompson from Beza's Latin edition, 
together with the notes of Beza, published in 1582 in 4to., and afterwards in 1589, varying 
very little from the Geneva Bible; the second by the Papists at Rheims in 1584, called the 
Rheimish Bible, or the Rheimish translation. These finding it impossible to keep the people 
from having the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, resolved to give a version of their own, as 
favourable to their case as possible. It was printed on a large paper, with a fair letter and 
margin. One complaint against it was its retaining a multitude of Hebrew and Greek words 
untranslated, for want, as the editors express it, of proper and adequate terms in the English 
to render them by, as the words azymes, tunike, rational, holocaust, j^epuce, pasche, &c. 
However, many of the copies were seized by the Queen's searchers, and confiscated : and 
Th. Cartwright was solicited by Secretary Walsingham to refute it ; but, after a good progress 
made therein, Archbishop Whitgift prohibited his further proceeding therein, as judging it 
improper the doctrine of the Church of England should be committed to the defence of a 
Puritan, and he appointed Dr. Fulke in his place, who refuted the Rheimists with great 



OF THE BIBLE. 



125 



spirit and learning. Cartwright's refutation was afterwards published in 1618, under Arch- 
bishop Abbot. About 30 years after their New Testament, the Roman Catholics published 
a translation of the Old at Douay in 1609 and 1610, from the Vulgate, with annotations; 
so that the English Roman Catholics have now the whole Bible in their mother tongue . 
though it is to be observed, they are forbidden to read it without a licence from their 
superiors. 

King James's. — The last English Bible was thai which proceeded from the Hampton 
Court Conference in 1603, where many exceptions being made to the Bishops' Bible, King 
James gave order for a new one ; not, as the preface expresses it, for a translation altogether 
new, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one, but to make a good one better, or of many 
good ones one best. Fifty-four learned persons were appointed for this office by the king, 
as appears by his letter to the Archbishop, dated in 1604, which being thr^e years before 
the translation was entered upon, it is probable seven of them were either dead or had 
declined the task, as Puller's list of the translators makes but 47, who, being ranged in six 
divisions, entered on their province, after having met at Oxford, Cambridge, and Westminster 
for that purpose in 1607. It was published in 1611, with a dedication to James, and a 
learned preface, and is commonly called King James's Bible. After this all the other versions 
dropped and fell into disuse, except the Epistles and Gospels in the Common Prayer Book, 
which were still continued according to the Bishops'" translation, till the alteration of the 
Liturgy in 1661, and the Psalms and Hymns, which are to this day continued as in the old 
version. 

The judicious Selden, in his Table Talk, speaking of the Bible, says, " The English trans- 
lation of the Bible is the best translation in the world, and renders the sense of the original 
best, taking in for the English translation the Bishops' Bible as well as King James's. The 
translators in King James's time took an excellent way. That part of the Bible was given 
to him who was most excellent in such a tongue (as the Apocrypha to Andrew Downs), 
and then they met together, and one read the translation, the rest holding in their hands 
some Bible, either of the learned tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, &c. If they found any 
fault, they spake ; if not, the reading was continued." Dr. Adam Clarke also remarks that, 
" Those who have compared most of the European translations with the original, have not 
scrupled to say that the English translation of the Bible made under the direction of King 
James the First is the most accurate and faithful of the whole. Nor is this its only praise : 
the translators have seized the very spirit and soul of the original, and have expressed this 
almost everywhere with pathos and energy" It is still of public authority in the British 
dominions; and is, perhaps, the best translation of the Bible extant. 

It has been asserted by Mr. Bellamy and some others, that the authors of our authorised 
version or translation confined themselves to the Septuagint and Vulgate, and did not 
translate from the Hebrew. This assertion, however, can be at once overthrown by bringing 
forward the authority of the forty-seven learned men, as may be seen by their no less modest 



126 



OF THE BIBLE. 



than dignified preface, or address to the reader, inserted in the edition of the Bihle published 
in the year 1630, which has this satisfactory passage among many others : " If you ask 
what they had before them, truly it was the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, — the Greek 
of the New." 

Anions these translators, two of the most noted for Hebrew erudition were Dr. Adrian 
Saravia and Dr. Richard Clerke. Dr. Saravia, well known as a Hebrew critic, " was educated," 
says Mr. Todd in his Life of Bryant Walton, " in all kinds of literature in his younger days, 
especially in several languages. He was the master of the celebrated oriental scholar, 
Nicholas Fuller, who gratefully mentions him in his preface to his Miscellanea Theologica ; 
and he was one of those who had successfully answered an objection of the Puritans, which 
they revived in the Conference at Hampton Court, in regard to a verse in the Old English 
version of the Psalms. Next to him in rank is Dr. Richard Clerke, who thoroughly under- 
stood the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages. Chrisi's College, in Cambridge, of which 
he was a fellow, had a testimony of his learning in his Hebrew lectures ; so had the University 
in his disputations and sermons ; so had the Church, when his Majesty James the First 
called many to the work of the last translation of the English Bible ; in which number he 
was, like one of the chief of David's worthies, not among the thirty, but among the first three. 
To him, and to Dr. Saravia, it appears that the portion assigned was from the Pentateuch 
to the Book of Chronicles." 

One of the best Hebrew scholars of that time was the celebrated English divine, and 
theological writer, Hugh Broughton, who corresponded with a learned Rabbi at Constan- 
tinople, and used great exertions for the conversion of the Jews to Christianity. Mr. Broughton 
was in continual and most bitter controversy with the Bishops, and was not employed, as he 
thought he should have been, in the translation of the Bible. At the time when our present 
version was made, he communicated many interpretations to the translators, which, as he 
afterwards complains, " they thrust into the margeut and whoever compares the text of 
our version with the marginal readings, will be led to regret that our translators did not 
associate him with them ; though he might not have proved himself so very agreeable a 
fellow-labourer as they could have desired. 

It must be observed, that in rendering the original text into English, there are certain words 
necessarily supplied by the translators, in order to make out the meaning. These supple- 
mentary words are printed in our Bibles in italic letters, to show that they are not in the 
original. The greatest of these supplements occurs in the 23d verse of the 2nd chapter 
of the First Epistle of St. John, where the translators have supplied no fewer than ten words, 
in order to make out what they thought to be the proper meaning. 

Welsh Bibles. — There was a Welsh translation of the Bible made from the original in 
the time of Queen Elizabeth, in consequence of a bill brought into the House of Commons 
for this purpose in 1563. It was printed in folio in 1588. Another version, which is the 
standard translation for that language, was printed in 1620. It is called Parry's Bible. 



OF THE BIBLE. 



127 



An impression of this was printed in 1690, called Bishop Lloyd's Bible. These were in 
folio. The first 8vo. impression of the Welsh Bible was made in 1630. 

Irish Bibles. — Towards the middle of the 16th century, Bedel, Bishop of Kilmore. 
set on foot a translation of the Old Testament into the Irish language ; the New Testament, 
and the Liturgy, having been before translated into that language. The Bishop appointed 
one King to execute this work, who, not understanding the Oriental languages, was obliged 
to translate it from the English. This work was received by Bedel, who, after having com- 
pared it with the English translation, compared the latter with the Hebrew, the Sepluagint, 
and the Italian version of Diodati. When the work was finished, the Bishop would have 
been at the expense of printing it ; but his design was stopped upon advice being given to 
the Lord Lieutenant, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, that it would prove a shameful 
thing for a nation to publish a Bible translated by such a despicable hand as King. However, 
the manuscript was not lost, for it was sent to press in the year 1685. 

Erse Bibles. — There are also versions of the Bible in the Gaelic or Erse language, one 
of which was published about 40 years ago. 

" From the mutability of language," says Evans, " the variation of customs, and the pro- 
gress of knowledge, several passages in the Bible require to be newly translated, or materially 
corrected. Hence in the present age, when Biblical literature has been assiduously culti- 
vated, different parts of the sacred volume have been translated by able hands. The substi- 
tuting a new translation of the Bible in the room of the one now in common use has been 
much debated. Dr. Knox, in his ingenious essays, together with others, argues against it ; 
while Dr. Newcome, the late Lord Primate of Ireland, the late Dr. Geddes, of the Catholic 
persuasion, and the late Dr. Gilbert Wakefield, contended strenuously for it. Bishop Lowth, 
and Professor Marsh, have pointedly shown the necessity of bringing the texts of the Scriptures, 
by the aid of ancient MSS. and versions, as near as may be to perfection." (See Sketches 
of all Denominations, p. 135.) 

Ainsworth, Doddridge, Macknight, Lowth, Blayney, and others, have published new 
translations of parts of the sacred books in English ; and there is no doubt that many improve- 
ments might be made upon the present authorised version, particularly in the Old Testament. 
Dr. Geddes, as above mentioned, at his decease had proceeded as far as the Psalms in the 
translation of the Old Testament ; but many of his variations from the common version are 
extremely in judicious. Archbishop Newcome, and Mr. Wakefield, published entire translations 
of the New Testament ; and an improved version of the New Testament, founded on New- 
come, has been published by the Unitarians, accompanied with notes and an excellent intro- 
duction. 

With the professed object of defeating the attacks on Christianity, a new translation of the 
Bible was given to the world, some years ago, by Mr. J. Bellamy, of Gray's Inn Lane, London. 
This version is in many places so very literal in its translation as to be unintelligible, and, 
therefore, unfit for any good purpose. The writer's forced and erroneous interpretations, as 



128 



OF THE BIBLE. 



well as his unjustifiable attacks upon other versions and translators, were so far from tending 
to the accomplishment of his professed object, that they seemed rather calculated to produce 
the opposite effect-; and consequently his new translation, which made some noise in its day, 
was soon judiciously consigned to oblivion. And, upon the whole, it may be observed, that 
although it is generally acknowledged that, after the lapse of 227 years, the improvements 
in critical learning and the discoveries in the pursuits of knowledge, together with hundreds 
of MSS. that have since emerged into the light, call for a revision of the present authorised 
version ; yet, such an attempt should not be rashly entered upon, and it should not take place 
until the necessity of it becomes much more apparent to common apprehensions than it is at 
present. 



129 



APPENDIX. 



Note I. 

OF THE ARK.— Gen., Chap. vi. Verse 15. 

The length of the ark was 54*7 feet 2f inches, the hreadth 91 feet 2f inches, and the height 54 feet 
8|- inches, after the Mosaic cubit of 1 foot 9 '888 inches. 

Some sceptics have douhted whether the ark was sufficiently capacious to contain the great number of 
animals, and provisions for them, which Moses informs us went into the ark. A little consideration 
would have convinced the doubters that it was sufficiently large for the purposes intended. The 
number of four-footed beasts is computed not to exceed one hundred and thirty species ; the birds about 
the same number ; and the reptiles about fifty different species. Again, of beasts there are not 
reckoned above six species larger than a horse, few are equal to the size of that animal, and many less 
in size than a sheep : then suppose the dimensions of each of the stories (of which there were three) to 
be 33,710-j- cubic feet, there would be ample room in the two lower stories for the animals, and Noah 
and his family, and also for provisions for the whole in the uppermost one. The whole contents of the 
ark were 101, 132^-f cubic feet. Dr. Arbuthnot computes the ark to have been 81,062 tons burthen. 

Noah entered into the ark in the month Jyar, which answers to our April and May, being in the 
second month of the 600th year of his age. 

At the end of forty days the waters were so increased as to float the ark ; but at length they rose to 
more than 9 yards above the tops of the highest mountains, so that every project for self-preservation 
proved futile, every advantage of apparent security useless ; for, first or last, all, except those in the 
ark, perished ! Happy they who belong to the family of Christ, and are safe with him in the ark ! 
they can look forward with pleasing expectation to that day when snares and fire and a horrible 
tempest shall destroy the wicked. 

That the flood was universal Moses affirms, by informing us that, " Fifteen cubits and upwards did 
the waters prevail, and the mountains were covered," Gen. vii. 20. Let the mountains themselves be 
appealed to for the truth of this assertion. They all, as it were, spontaneously produce the spoils of the 
ocean deposited upon them on that occasion ; the shells and skeletons of sea-fish, and skeletons of land 
animals of all kinds. The Alps, the Apennines, the Pyrenees, the Andes, the Atlas, and Ararat ; in 
fact, every mountain of every region under heaven, from Japan to Mexico, all unite in one universal 
proof that they all had the sea flowing over their highest summits. Let us search, and we shall find 
the moose-deer, natives of America, buried in Ireland ; elephants, natives of Asia and Africa, in 
England ; crocodiles, natives of the Nile, in the heart of Germany ; the megatherium and the mammoth, 
supposed to be a native of the regions within the tropics, found in the northernmost parts of America 
and Russia; shell-fish, never known in any but the American seas, together with entire skeletons of 
whales, found in the chalk cliffs of England, as well as in divers countries : to which we may add 
trees and plants of various kinds which are not known now to grow in any region under heaven — all 
which form a perfect demonstration of the truth of the Mosaic account of the Deluge. In corroboration 
of the latter observation many of the ancient heathen have made mention of the flood; and the Chinese, 
and the aborigines of America, have traditions of it, and this leads us to consider the important 
question of all the present inhabitants having descended from one common stock, or family. It has 
been observed that there are many customs and usages, both civil and religious, which have prevailed in 
all parts of the world, and can owe their origin to nothing but a general institution, which institution 
could never have taken place had not mankind been of the same blood originally, and instructed in the 
same common notions before they were dispersed. Among these customs and usages may be reckoned 
the following, viz. : — 



130 



APPENDIX. 



First. — The numbering by decades. 

Secondly. — The computing time by seven days. 

Thirdly.-— The sacred regard paid to the number seven. 

Fourthly. — The use of sacrifices, whether propitiatory for sin, or as thanksgivings for mercies. 
Fifthly. — The consecration of altars and temples. 

Sixthly. — The institution of sanctuaries, with their privileges, by which offenders were secured from 
the vindictive hand of justice. 

Seventhly. — The separation of first fruits, and of tenths, for the use of the altars. 
Eighthly. — The custom of worshipping the Deity barefooted. 
Ninthly. — Abstinence of husbands from their wives before sacrifices. 
Tenthly. — The order of priesthood, and the maintenance of it. 

Eleventhly ■ — Most of the expiations and pollutions mentioned by Moses in use among heathen 
nations. 

Twelfthly. — A universal tradition of the general deluge; and 

Lastly. — A general expectation of a resurrection and after-life, as we find in Gen. xv. 15, "And 
thou shait go to thy fathers," &c. This simple expression shows that the Patriarchs had a firm ground 
in believing in the future existence of human souls. It is a phrase used many times in the sacred 
scriptures of the Old Testament, long before life and immortality were brought to light by the Gospel ; 
for, although the Old Testament saints had but an imperfect view of those things, yet they believed 
them, as did all the heathen nations in the world ; which shows, in the most striking manner, the bene- 
ficence of an Omniscient Creator ; for, what miserable creatures should we be if our hopes were confined 
to this life ! — if we had no prospect beyond the grave ! We should neglect those important duties which 
we owe to our family, and to the community to which we belong. We should be more miserable than 
the beasts which live by instinct, and could have no reflection on an hereafter. Let us, therefore, guard 
against such thoughts, lest we be induced to say with the Epicureans, " Let us eat and drink, for to- 
morroiv we die" 

" And the ark rested in the seventh month (Tisri, or Ethanim) upon the seventeenth day of the 
month (i.e. September) upon the mountains of Ararat," Gen. viii. 4. This was the seventh month of 
the year; not of the flood, as appears from verses 13 and 14, as well as from verse 11th of the former 
chapter : " And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month ; in the tenth month, on the 
first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen," Gen. viii. 5. Mr. Whiston remarks 
upon this subject, " The care and wisdom of Providence for the preservation of Noah and his family, 
and all the creatures, after their coming out of the ark, are strikingly manifested by so ordering it that 
the ark should rest upon one of the highest mountains of the w orld ; for, though the earth must have 
been uninhabitable for a considerable time after the flood, by reason of the sediment which the water 
left upon its surface, and which would require no small space of time to settle, consolidate, and become 
fit for vegetation ; yet on the high mountains, which would be covered by the waters but a little time, 
the quantity of sediment would be so inconsiderable that the earth would not be much altered from 
what it was before, nor its vegetable productions much hurt by the general deluge." 

" It appears that, in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, in the first day of the 
month, the w : aters were dried up from off the earth," &c. " And in the second month, on the seven- 
and-twentieth day of the month, Noah and his family, and all living things which were with him in the 
ark, went forth." So that the flood continued ten days more than one year. — Gen. vii. 11 ; viii. 13, 14. 



OF THE TOWER OF BABEL— Gen., Chap. xi. Verse 4. 

Babel (or Confusion) was built by some of the descendants of Noah, of whom Nimrod, who was the 
son of Cush, who was the son of Ham, second son of Noah, was the leader, as they journeyed from the 
east, and found a plain in the land of Shinar ; where also they built Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, 
which formed the kingdom of Babel. In that low and fat soil, not being able to find stone, they 
exhorted each other to make brick ; and the slime, which was a kind of asphaltum or bitumen, 
according to Pliny, Strabo, Dion, and other ancient writers, was liquid and glutinous, and fit to be used 
for mortar. The height of the tower has been stated at 4,000 paces, which at 5 feet to the pace would 



APPENDIX. 



131 



be 6,666f yards, or 3f miles 51 yards 2 feet in height. But Herodotus, who viewed the structure 
attentively, tells us that it was a square of half a mile in circumference ; that the height was equal to 
the circumference of the base, and divided into eight towers, built one upon another : but, probably, 
what made it appear like eight towers was the manner of its ascent, which was a circular or winding 
way carried round on the outside of the building. The ascent was so very broad that it afforded room 
for horses and carriages to pass by each other, and even to turn. Some ancient writers have imagined 
their design in building this tower was, that they might have a place of refuge and safety to flee to in 
case another flood should come ; but as the top of it could not contain many creatures, with provisions 
sufficient for even that few, that appears not so much to have been the design, as, by making this 
edifice the centre of their union, to render it thereby a seat of power and dominion over the whole, 
which appears to have been the intent of Nimrod and his company, since the larger part of Noah's 
progeny had no share in the bold undertaking. It was, in its latter days, consecrated to the worship 
of false gods ; but this stately tower, which seemed to menace the stars, is now brought down to the 
ground, even to the duat. 



Note II. 

OF THE ARK, MERCY-SEAT, TABERNACLE, AND ALTAR. — Exodus, Chap. xxv. Verse 10. 

The Ark was a chest or coffer, which was to be deposited in the inmost part of the tabernacle. Here 
were preserved the tables of the testimony, containing the ten commandments, written by the finger of 
God, which was the most sacred monument of the Jewish religion. This Ark was to be a symbol of 
the Divine presence and protection over the Israelites ; a sacred pledge of the stability of the Jewish 
commonwealth, so long as they adhered to the articles of the covenant which the Ark contained. It was 
54f inches, nearly, in length, 32 inches and rather more than J of another inch in width, and the same 
in depth; it being of the exact dimensions of the Mercy-seat which was placed upon it. 

The Tabernacle was a kind of building in the form of a tent, set up by the express command of God 
for the performance of religious worship, sacrifices, &c. during the journeying of the Israelites in the 
wilderness ; and after their settlement in the land of Canaan, made use of for the same purpose till the 
building of the temple at Jerusalem. It was divided into two parts, the one covered, and properly 
called the tabernacle, and the other open, called the court. The curtains which covered the tabernacle 
were made of linen, of several colours, embroidered. There were ten curtains, twenty-eight cubits 
long (or 51 feet), and four cubits in breadth (or 7 feet 3^ inches). Five curtains fastened together 
made up two coverings, which covered up all the tabernacle. The holy of holies was parted from the 
rest of the tabernacle by a curtain made fast to four pillars standing 10 cubits (or 18 feet 2f inches) 
from the end. The length of the whole tabernacle was 32 cubits (or 58 feet 4 inches), and the 
breadth 12 cubits (or nearly 22 feet). The court was a spot of ground 100 cubits long (or 182 feet 
4 inches), and half that in breadth, enclosed by 20 columns, each 20 cubits (or 36 feet 6 inches) high, 
and half that in breadth, covered with silver, and standing on copper bases, 5 cubits (or 9 feet 2 inches) 
distant one from another ; between which there were curtains drawn and fastened with hooks. At the 
east end was an entrance 20 cubits (or 36 feet 6 inches) wide, covered with a curtain hanging loose. 

The Altar for sacrifices was 5 cubits (or 9 feet 2 inches) long, the same wide, and 3 cubits (or 5 feet 
6 inches) in height. The horns were fixed at the four corners of the altar, and elevated above the body 
of it in form of spires or pyramids. These were made of shittim wood, the same as the altar, but were 
covered or overlaid with brass plates of competent thickness, both above the wood and under it, to pre- 
vent the" fire from burning the wood, and were intended not only for ornament but use also, either to 
keep things put upon it from falling off, or that beasts to be offered up might be bound to them. 
Psalm cxviii. 27. 



Note III. 

Exodus xxix. 40. — The offerings of meal, biscuits, or cakes, in the Jewish customs were designated 
mincha. The seventv have sometimes preserved this word in their translation ; but instead of mincha 

s 2 



132 



APPENDIX. 



they read manaa, which doubtless was the received pronunciation in their days. We find manaa in the 
same sense in Leviticus ii. 3, &c. ; 2nd Kings viii. 5, 9; xvii. 7 ; xx. 12 ; 2 Chron. vii. 7 ; Neh. xiii. 
5, 9, &c. ; Jere. xvii. 26; Dan. ii. 46; Baruch i. 10. — See the Greek. 



Note IV. 







lb. 


oz. 


dwt. 


gr- 




Exodus, 30 c, 23rd 


v. — 500 shekels pure mvrrh, weighing . 


18 


11 


13 


13-™ 


troy 




250 shekels sweet cinnamon 


9 


5 


16 




55 




250 shekels sweet calamus . 


9 


5 


16 


18-8575 


5» 


Exodus, 3o"c, 24th 




18 


11 


13 


13-715 


55 




Troy . . . 


56 


11 





17-U5 





The above ingredients Moses was ordered to take, with one hin of olive oil, and thereof to " make an 
oil of holy ointment, compound, after the art of the apothecary ; it shall be an holy anointing oil." The 
hin of liquid measure among the Hebrews contained only one imperial gallon and one-third of a pint, 
and that small quantity of oil would be insufficient, without the aid of the apothecary, to make a compound 
oil of ointment, with more than 56 lbs. of aromatic powder. How, then, was the art of the apothecary 
exercised in preparing the holy ointment or oil ? Perhaps it was prepared by a process similar to that 
which the natives of the East have, from time immemorial, practised, to prepare odoriferous oils. The 
aromatic substances employed are coarsely powdered and put into an earthen vessel along with a certain 
quantity of lixed oil. Water, fully sufficient to cover the aromatics, is then added, and the vessel placed 
upon a fire to boil. During the process of ebullition the essential oil of the aromatics unites with the 
fixed oil, by which means it becomes impregnated with the peculiar odour of the seeds, barks, or other 
substances employed. Cinnamon and cassia are the designations of the different qualities of the prepared 
bark of the cinnamon-tree. The cinnamon-tree is a native of a tropical climate, and the prepared bark 
was probably conveyed to Palestine from the Oriental Archipelago, by means of the Phoenician merchants ; 
the Ishmaelites who w T ere travelling from Giiead to Egypt (being the first merchants mentioned in 
Scripture), with spicery, and balm, and myrrh (Gen. xxxv. 25). Herodotus informs us that the word 
kinnamon was adopted by the Greeks from the Phoenicians, and in all likelihood the Hebrew term 
kinnemon, or kanarn, had a similar origin. The country which produces an article of commerce verv 
generally gives it the name which it obtains in other parts of the world; we must, therefore, look to the 
language of a country which produces cinnamon for the origin of the terms that are employed to desig- 
nate it by consumers. In the Malay language, cinnamon is designated by the words kayee manis 
(sweet wood), from which the Hebrew and Greek names of this spice may have been derived, as the 
cinnamon-tree is found in great abundance in the Malay islands Kannema, signifying sweet wood, is 
the Malabar name of this spice. In the Persian language it is called kmnamon, and in some parts of 
India it is known by the appellation of dor Chinie, which signifies the wood of China. Cinnamon was 
for a long time imported into Europe under the name " China wood." The Malay word kayee (wood) 
seems to have been the origin of the Hebrew word kiddah, which is translated cassic, and the Latin 
term by which this quality of cinnamon is known in commerce is cassia-lignea. In ancient times the 
unpeeled shoots or branches were conveyed to Europe and sold, wood and bark together ; and hence, in 
all probability, is the origin of the adjunct lignea. Cinnamon is mentioned in the Song of Solomon iii. 
14, and in Proverbs vii. 17; and cassia in Ezekiel xxvii. 19.* The " sweet cane" mentioned in 
Isaiah xliii. 24, and Jeremiah vi. 20, in all probability is only another designation of cinnamon. Both 
passages imply an article of importation, and consequently not of native growth. The cinnamon which 
is imported from the peninsula of India, Sumatra, Java, &c, and the inferior quality of cinnamon which 
is exported from Ceylon, are known in commerce by the name of cassia. 

Exodus xiii. 13. — After the shekel of the Sanctuary, the above spices were to be weighed, because the 

* " Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs : bright iron, cassia, and calamus were in thy market." 



APPENDIX. 



133 



standard by which all shekels were to be examined was kept in the sanctuary, as afterwards the just 
weights and measures were kept in Christian temples. The shekel consisted of 20 gerahs. See 
Lev. xxxvii. 25, Num. iii. 47, Ezek. xlv. 12, &c. 



Note V. 

OF THE TEMPLE. — 1 Kings vi. 2. 

The temple at Jerusalem was similar in its plan to the Tabernacle. The first temple was begun by 
Solomon about the year of the world 2992, and before Christ 1012 years, according to some chronologers, 
and finished in eight years. Great mistakes have been committed respecting the dimensions of this 
temple, by confounding the emblematical description of Ezekiel with the plain account of it in the books 
of Kings and Chronicles. It consisted of the holy of holies, the sanctuary, and the portico. The holy of 
holies was a square room of 20 cubits; the sanctuary, or holy place, was 40 cubits long and 20 broad, 
consequently the length of both these together was 60 cubits ; the portico which stood before the sanctuary 
was 20 cubits long and 10 cubits broad. Whether the portico was separated by a wall from the rest of 
the temple or not, is not mentioned in Scripture. If it was, the whole length of the temple, computing 
the cubit at 22 inches, did not exceed 110 feet in length and 36 feet 8 inches in breadth. In the portico 
stood the two brazen pillars jnchin and boaz, which, upon comparing and reconciling the seemingly 
different account in different places, appear to have been 40 cubits high and about 4 cubits diameter. 
The court probably extended, at first, all round the temple. Now, we are told that the court about the 
tabernacle was 100 cubits long and 50 broad ; and as Solomon made every part of the temple about 
twice as large as the corresponding part in the tabernacle, we have reason to conclude that the court 
around the temple was 200 cubits long and 100 cubits broad. According to this description, which is 
taken from Scripture history, the temple of Solomon was by no means so large as it is commonly repre- 
sented. Still, however, it was very magnificent in size and splendid in ornament. It was plundered of 
its treasures in the reign of Rehoboam, and repaired by Joash ; it was again spoiled in the time of Ahaz 
and Hezekiah, and after being restored by Josiah, was demolished by Nebuchadnezzar in the year of 
the world 3416, after it had stood 476 years according to Josephus, but according to Bishop Usher 428 
years. 

The second temple was built by the Jews, after their return from the Babylonish captivity under the 
direction and influence of Zerubbabel their governor, and of Joshua their High Priest, with the leave 
and encouragement of Cyrus, the Persian Emperor, to whom Judea was now become a tributary 
kingdom. According to the Jews, this temple was destitute of five remarkable appendages, which were 
the chief glory of the first temple, viz., the ark and mercy seat, the shechinah, the holy fire on the altar, 
which had been first kindled from Heaven, the urim and thummim, and the spirit of prophecy. This 
temple was first plundered bv Antiochus Epiphanes, who also caused the public worship in it to cease, 
and afterwards purified by Judas Maccabeus, who restored the Divine worship ; and after having stood 
500 years, rebuilt by Herod with a magnificence approaching to that of Solomon's. Tacitus calls it 
immesee opulentice templum ; and Josephus says that it was the most astonishing structure that he had 
ever seen, as well on account of its architecture as its magnitude, and likewise the richness and magni- 
ficence of its various parts, and the reputation of its sacred appurtenances. This temple, which Herod 
began to build about 16 years before the birth of Christ, and so far completed in nine years and a half 
as to be fit for Divine service, was at length destroyed by the Romans under Titus on the same month, 
and the same day of the month, on which Solomon's temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. 



Note VI. 

ON THE PROPHET DANIEL, RESPECTING YEARS AND TIMES. 

It is computed by learned commentators, that the seven times, mentioned in Daniel, chap. iv. ver. 16, 
signifies seven years; so the expression is taken, chap. xi. ver. 13, where the Hebrew reads, " The 



134 



APPENDIX. 



king of the north shall come at the end of times ;" i. e. years. So the time, times, and an half, men- 
tioned in chap. vii. ver. 25, and chap. xii. ver. 7, signify 3^ years ; and are accordingly explained by 
forty-two months, Revelation, chap. xi. ver. 2, and by 1,260 days, Revelation, chap. xii. ver. 6, 
both of which reckonings of time are equivalent to three years and a half, taking thirty days to the 
month. 

The 2,300 days in Daniel, chap. viii. ver. 14, are about six years and four months, reckoning 360 
days to a year; for so long, under Antiochus, was the temple profaned. But since it is generally 
agreed, that the persecution of Antiochus was a type, or imperfect symbol, of the greater desolation 
which Antichrist should make in the church of God, some extend these days to the end of Antichrist, 
taking each day for a year, according to the genius of the prophetic writers ; agreeably to which sense, 
the three years and an half, chap. vii. ver. 25, and the seventy weeks in the ninth chapter, are explained 
by most interpreters, chap. ix. ver. 25, seven weeks ; and three score and two weeks. A semicolon 
should be placed at the end of this sentence instead of the middle of it, as it is placed in our English 
Bibles. Seven weeks, and three score and two iceeks, added together, make sixly*nine weeks of years, 
or 483 years. As the cutting off of the Messiah is appropriated to the period of three-score and two 
weeks in the following verse, so the seven weeks, or forty-nine years, here mentioned, must, in all 
probability, be assigned to the building of the street and ivall, whether we understand it literally, or 
metaphorically, with Dr. Prideaux, for the restoring and settling of the Jewish church and state. 
The common acceptation of the passage, " After three-score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off," 
is, that, in the seventieth or last w r eek, the Messiah should be put to death. The Hebrew word 
translated cut off, is, by the Jewish rabbins, interpreted of a death inflicted by the sentence of a judge. 
Our Saviour plainly refers to this text, Luke, chap. xxiv. ver. 26 and 46. Bishop Lloyd, who makes 
a break between the sixty-ninth week and the seventieth, supposes the sixty-ninth to expire in May, 
a. d. 32, which was the year before our Saviour's passion. In correspondence with this prophecy, our 
Lord could not survive a whole year after the sixty-nine weeks (years) were expired; nor did he; but 
as he was to be cut off at the Passover, himself being the true Paschal Lamb, he died in the following 
year, in the month Nizan, being answering to our April ; on the very same day and at the very same 
hour that the paschal lamb was wont to be killed. The prophecy of the seventy weeks is one of the 
most express prophecies in the Old Testament; it clearly determines the time that was to pass between 
the decree for rebuilding Jerusalem and the death of the Messiah. 

The angel who spake to Daniel says, that the time was to be seventy weeks of years, that is 490 
years, to be reckoned from the decree made in favour of the Jews by Artaxerxes, surnamed Longimanus. 
This prophecy expressly declares that, at the end of this time, the Messiah should come ; that he would 
make an atonement, by his death, for sin ; that he would establish and confirm the covenant of God 
with man, and that afterw T ards the Romans would come and destroy the city and temple of Jerusalem. 
All these circumstances have been most exactly fulfilled, as we have been certainly informed by history, 
at the times and in the manner foretold. In the twelfth chapter of Daniel, and eleventh and twelfth 
verses, we find, " There shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that 
ivaiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and jive-and-thirty days." Here, the time allotted 
for the persecutions of Antichrist, till the church be cleansed entirely and purified, is enlarged from 
1,260 days, denoted by time, times, and an half, ver. 1, to 1,290 days, and then to 1,335 days. Some 
learned men, who have compared the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelations together, suppose the 
interval of time between the 1,260 days and the 1,335 days to be included within the times of the 
seventh trumpet, during which period the seven last plagues will be fulfilled. Revelation, chap. xi. 
ver. 15 and 18, and chap. xv. ver. 1, 7, 8. 



Note VII. 

ON JONAH, Chap. hi. Verses 3 and 4. 

Nineveh, that great city, was built by Asshur, the son of Shem, and was, according to Diodorus 
Siculus, (lib. 2.) built in the form of a parallelogram, two of its sides being 150 furlongs eighteen miles 
and three quarters, and the other two only eighty furlongs, or ten miles, so that its compass would be 



APPENDIX. 135 

460 furlongs or fifty-seven miles and a-half. The walls were 100 feet in height, and of sufficient 
breadth to allow three chariots to meet and safely pass each other; that it had 1,500 towers on its 
walls, each tower being 200 feet high, and that 1,400,000 men were employed, for the space of eight 
years, in the building of it. The " three days' journey" implies that it would take a person three 
days to walk round the city, at the rate of nearly twenty miles per day ; and the " one day's journey," 
which Jonah began to enter, signifies that he, on entering the city, proclaimed the awful denunciation 
of the Divine wrath, and continued to do so through the principal streets for the space of a day's 
journey, until his voice reached the king's ears. As it is not intended to give a full history of this 
famous city, the reader is referred to Dr. Prideaux's Connexion of the Old and New Testaments for 
such particulars relative thereto as may be required. I have only to add, that according to the ancient 
author above stated, there was an ancient prophecy that Nineveh should not be taken till the river 
became an enemy to the city ; and in the third year of the siege, the river being swollen by continual 
rains, overflowed part of the city and brake down the wall for twenty furlongs, or two miles and a-half 
in extent. At that time the king, thinking that the oracle was fulfilled, and the river become an enemy, 
built a large funereal pile in the palace, and collecting together all his wealth, his concubines and his 
eunuchs, burned himself with the palace and them all, and the enemy entered at the breach which the 
waters had made and took the city (before Christ, 710) ; so that which was prophesied by Nahum, 
chap. i. ver. 8 and 10, was literally fulfilled. It was about 150 years after the preaching of Jonah, when 
the Ninevites repented and were spared, that, returning like a dog to his vomit, Nahum was sent to 
pronounce their doom, and bind the heavy wrath of God's judgment upon them. Thus we see there is 
a Divine Providence which presides over all things with justice and wisdom, and power irresistible ; 
and the same Gon, who thus punishes and abases kingdoms and nations, is the Judge of all men, and 
will render to every one according to his works. 



Note VIII. 
ON .ERAS. 

JEra, is a point of time from which subsequent years are reckoned, and in some instances preceding 
years, as in the Christian sera. 

All nations who have any history to record, have fixed their sera at some remote period, in order to 
embrace in their annals as large an extent of time as practicable. The creation of the world would 
most naturally present itself to those who might have any means of ascertaining the time of its occurrence, 
and the Bible would be the source from whence the information might be obtained. But, unfortunately 
for chronology, the Bible is not sufficiently explicit on this subject; and, although the Jews and some 
Christian nations do date from their creation, their computations of the period at which this event took 
place differ to the extent of nearly 2,000 years. Those whom this uncertainty has deterred, or who have had 
no knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, have contented themselves with more recent periods. The ancient 
Romans adopted the epoch of their first supposed political existence ; and the Greeks that of the first 
celebration or revival of the Olympic Games, which were with them an important national festival. 
Many nations have assumed some event closely connected with their religious faith : thus, the early 
Christians of the East dated from the persecution under the Emperor Diocletian, and those of Europe 
and America, at the present day, from the birth of Christ. All the followers of Mohammed have adopted, 
as an sera, the flight of their prophet from Mecca to Medina, which they call the Hegira. 

Many of these seras are arbitrarily and incorrectly fixed, and even our own is erroneous by four 
years. But an error at the commencement will not invalidate the dates of events recorded subsequently, 
as any sera once assumed will be sufficient to show the succession of time, however incorrectly as-igned 
to the period whose name it bears. 

With one or two exceptions, all nations have reckoned time in accordance with the seasons ; they 
have always begun their year at the same season ; sometimes, perhaps, a little earlier, and sometimes 
later, but invariably keeping near the original commencement. 

Here follows a list of the seras which have been, or are, most in use among the civilized nations of 
the world, with the year of the Christian sera in which they began : — 



136 



APPENDIX. 



1. The year of the world according to the reckoning of Constantinople, which was used in 

Russia until the beginning of the eighteenth century, and is still employed by the 

Greek church b. c. 5509 

2. The year of the world, as reckoned at Antioch, now used by the Abyssinian church . b. c. 5492 

(The church of Alexandria originally assumed the year b.c. 5502 as the year of 
the creation, but, in the year a.d. 285, they discarded ten years, and thus acceded 
to the computation of Antioch ) 
3- The year of the world used by the Jews b. c. 3760 

4. The Caliyuga, employed by the learned throughout India, may be called an aera of the 

creation, being considered by the Hindoos as the commencement of the present 

state of the world, or " Iron Age" b.c. 3102 

5. The Olympiads, the sera of the victory of Chorcebus at the Olympic Games, used 

chiefly by the Greek historians after the age of Alexander b. c. 776 

(X.B. An Olympiad is a period of four years.) 

6. The building of Rome ; this is generally called the Varronian sera b.c. 753 

7. The Catonian aera of the building of Rome is b. c. 752 

(See Ideler's Chronology, p. 334.) 

8. The aera of Yicramaditya, in common use throughout India b.c. 57 

9. The Spanish sera, from the conquest of Spain by Augustus, was employed in Spain, 

Portugal, Africa, and the South of France. In some provinces this sera was in use 

until the middle of the fifteenth century b. c. 38 

10. The a?ra of Salivahana, in common use through the southern and western states of 

India . . a. p. .' T$ 

11. The aera of Martyrs, or of Diocletian, so called from the persecution of the Christians 

in the reign of that emperor, was much used by the early Christians, and is still 

employed in the churches of the East a. d. 284 

12. The Hegira, used by all* Mohammedans, dates from the flight of Mohammed to 

Medina a.d. 622 

13. Ti.e Christian sera dates from the birth of Christ; the year in which he was (er- 

roneously) supposed to be born is called 1 b.c, the following year 1 a.d. Many 
authors call the year of our Lord's birth 0, and consequently make the dates of all 
preceding events one year less than by the common practice. 



The following rules will serve to show the year of the Christian sera corresponding with that of any 
given aera : — 

1st. When the commencement of the given sera precedes the birth of Christ, subtract from the 
given year the number affixed to the sera in the above list, and the remainder will be the year of Christ 
in which the given year began. 

If the given year be less than the affixed number, subtract it from that number, adding one; the 
result will b ; e the date before Christ. 

Examples. — Required the Christian date answering to the year of Rome 1 754 : 

From . .1754 
Subtract . 753 



The vear . 1001 a.d. corresponds with the year 1754 a.u.c. 



Required the year b.c. answering to 707 a.u.c. : 
From . . 753 
Subtract . 707 



46 

Add . . 1 



The year . 47 b.c. coincides with 707 a.u.c. 



APPENDIX. 



137 



The reason is this : a.u.c. "707 means, that an event took place in that year, and therefore 753 — 706 
or 47 years b.c. Temain ; and as all the years b.c. before b.c. 47 have expired, the event must take 
place in the year b.c. 47. 

Required the year of Christ in which the year 5591 of the Jews began : 
From . . 5591 
Deduct . 3761 



Answer, a. d. 1830 



2nd. When the commencement of the given sera follows the birth of Christ, add to the given year 
the number affixed to the eera in the list, less one. The sum will be the year of Christ in which the 
given year began. 

Example. — Required the Christian year in which 1031 of Martyrs began : 

To the given year 1031 

Add the number in the list, less one 283 

The year a.d. 1314 answers to the year 1031. 



All the above dates may be reduced to the Christian sera by the same formula, except that of the 
Hegira, as the Mohammedans allow only 354 days to the year. Mohammedan reckoning is thus at 
variance with the course of the seasons; their year now begins in May, changes to March in 1840, 
and to December in 1850, and thus gains at the rate of a little more than three years in a century. 
It will, therefore, be necessary to prepare any given date from the Hegira by subtracting three years 
for every 100 years before reducing it to the Christian sera. 

Required the year of the Hegira . . . 1245 
Subtract three years for every 100 . . 37 



1208 

Add the number in the list, less one . . 621 



1829 

The year of the Hegira 1245 began in the year 1829 a.d. 

3rd. The computation by Olympiads may be thus explained: for instance, 01. lx. 3 means that an 
event took place in the third year of the sixtieth Olympiad, and consequently in the year that followed 
the expiration of fifty-nine Olympiads (or fifty-nine periods of four years each), and two more years 
belonging to the sixtieth Olympiad ; or after the expiration of 238 years, and therefore in the year 
b.c. 538. 



Note IX. 
OF THE PENTATEUCH. 
Pentateuch signifies the collection of the five books of Moses, which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 
Numbers, and Deuteronomy, being derived from the Greek UevraTEv\oQ ; from tzevte five, and tsv-^oq 
an instrument or volume. 

There are some modern critics who have disputed Moses' right to the Pentateuch. They observe 
that the author speaks always in the third person. " Now the man Moses was very meek above all 
the men who were upon the face of the earth." " The Lord spake unto Moses, saying," &c. " Moses 
said to Pharaoh." Thus they think he would have never spoken of himself ; but would at least some- 
times have mentioned himself in the first person. Besides this, say they, the author of the Pentateuch 
sometimes abridges his narrative like a writer who collected from some ancient memoirs. Sometimes 
he interrupts the thread of his discourse : for example, he makes Lamech the bigamist to say 



138 



APPENDIX. 



(Gen. iv. 23.) " Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech ; for I have slain a 
man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt," without informing us beforehand to whom this is 
related, or of what the prior conversation consisted. The following observation, for example 
(Gen. xii. 6.) " And the Canaanite was then in the land," cannot be reconciled to the age of Moses, 
since the Canaanites continued to be the masters of Palestine all the time of Moses. The passage out 
of the book of the wars of the Lord, quoted in the book of Numbers (xxi. 14), seems to have been 
placed in afterwards, as also the first verses of Deuteronomy. The account of the death of Moses, 
which is at the end of Deuteronomy, cannot certainly belong to that legislator ; and the same opinion 
may be made of other passages, wherein it is said, that the places mentioned lay beyond Jordan ; that 
the bed of Og was at Ramah to this day ; that the havoth of Jair, or the cities of Jair, were known to 
the author, though probably they had not that name till after Moses' time (Num. xxxii. 41. 
Deut. hi. 14.) 

It is observed also in the text of the Pentateuch, that there are some places that are defective : for 
example, in Exodus (xii. 8.), we see Moses speaking to Pharaoh, where the author omits the beginning 
of his discourse. The Samaritan inserts in the same place what is wanting in the Hebrew. In other 
places, the same Samaritan copy adds what is deficient in the Hebrew text; and what it contains more 
than the Hebrew text seems so well connected with the rest of the discourse, that it would be difficult 
to separate them. Lastly, they believe that they observe certain strokes in the Pentateuch which 
can hardly agree with Moses, who was born and bred in Egypt ; as what he says of the earthly 
paradise, of the rivers that watered it, and ran through it ; of the cities of Babylon, Erech, Resen, and 
Calneh ; of the gold of Pison, of the Bdellium, of the stone of Sohem, or onyx-stone, which was to be 
found in that country. These particulars, observed with such curiosity, seem to indicate that the 
author of the Pentateuch lived beyond the Euphrates. Add what he says concerning the ark of Noah, 
of its construction, of the place where it rested, of the wood of which it was built, of the bitumen of 
Babylon, &c. But in answer to all these cavillings and objections, we may observe in general, from 
an eminent writer of our own country,* that these books are by the most ancient writers ascribed to 
Moses; and it is confirmed by the authority of heathen writers themselves, that they are of his writing: 
besides this, we have the unanimous testimony of the whole Jewish nation, ever since Moses' time, 
from the first writing them. Divers texts of the Pentateuch imply that it was written by Moses, and 
the book of Joshua, and other parts of Scripture, import as much ; and though some passages have been 
thought to imply the contrary, yet this is but a late opinion, and has been sufficiently confuted by 
several learned men. The Samaritans receive no other scriptures but the Pentateuch, rejecting all 
the other books which are in the Jewish canon. 

PENTECOST. 

A solemn festival of the Jews, so called, because it was celebrated on the 50th day after the 
1 6th of Nisan, which was the second day of the Passover. The Hebrews called it the feast of weeks 
because it was kept seven weeks after the Passover. They then offered the first-fruits of the wheat 
harvest, which was then completed ; besides which they presented at the temple seven lambs of that 
year, one calf, and two rams, for a burnt-offering; two lambs for a peace-offering; and a goat for a 
sin-offering. (Levit. xxiii. 15, 16; Exod. xxiv. 22 ; and Deut. xvi. 9, 10.) The feast of the Pen- 
tecost was instituted among the Israelites, first to oblige them to repair to the temple of the Lord, 
there to acknowledge his absolute dominion over the whole country, and to offer there the first-fruits of 
their harvest ; and, secondly, that they might call to mind, and give thanks to God for, the law which 
he had given them from Mount Sinai, on the fiftieth day after their coming out of Egypt. 



Note X. 
OF THE TALMUD. 

There are two works which bear this name, the Talmud of Jerusalem, and the Talmud of Babylon. 
Each of these is composed of two parts : the Mishna, which is the text, and is common to both ; and 
the Gemara, or commentary. 

* Jenkin's Reasonableness of Christianity. 



APPENDIX. 



139 



The Mishna, which comprehended all the laws, institutions, and rules of life which, beside the 
ancient Hebrew scriptures, the Jews thought themselves bound to observe, was composed, according 
to the unanimous testimony of the Jews, about the close of the second century. It Was the work of 
Rabbi Jehuda (or Juda Hakkadosh), who was the ornament of the school at Tiberias, and is said to 
have occupied him forty years. The commentaries and additions which succeeding Rabbins made 
were collected by Rabbi Jochanan Ben Eliezer, some say in the fifth, others say in the sixth, and 
others say in the seventh century, under the name of Gemara, that is, completion ; because it completed 
the Talmud. A similar addition was made to the Mishna by the Babylonish doctors in the beginning 
of the sixth century according to Enfield, and in the seventh, according to others. 

The Mishna is divided into six parts, of which, every one which is entitled order, is formed of 
treatises ; every treatise is divided into chapters, and every chapter into mishnas or aphorisms. In 
the first part is discussed whatever relates to seeds, fruits, and trees ; in the second feasts ; in the 
third women, their disorders, duties, marriages, divorces, contracts, and nuptials ; in the fourth are 
treated the damages or losses sustained by beasts or men, of things found, deposits, usuries, rents, 
farms, partnerships in commerce, inheritance, sales, and purchases, oaths, witnesses, arrests, idolatry ; 
and here are named those by whom the oral law was received and preserved. In the fifth part are 
noticed what regards sacrifices and holy things ; and the sixth part treats of purifications, vessels, fur- 
niture, clothes, houses, leprosy, baths, and numerous other articles. All this forms the Mishna. 

As the learned reader may wish to obtain some notion of rabbinical composition and judgment, we 
shall gratify his curiosity by the following specimen: "Adam's body was made out of the earth of 
Babylon, his head of the land of Israel, his other members of other parts of the world." R. Meir 
thought he was compact of the earth gathered out of the whole earth ; as it is written thine eyes did 
see my substance. Now it is elsewhere written, the eyes of the Lord are over all the earth. R. Aha 
expressly marks the twelve hours in which his various parts were formed ; his stature was from one 
end of the world to the other ; and it was for his transgression that the Creator, laying his hand on 
him in anger, lessened him; for before (says R. Eleazer), with his hand he reached the firmament. 
R. Jehuda thinks his sin was heresy ; but R. Isaac thinks that " it was nourishing his foreskin." 

The Talmud of Babylon is most valued by the Jews ; and this is the book which they mean to 
express when they talk of the Talmud in general. An abridgment of it was made by Maimonides in 
the twelfth century, in which he rejected some of its greatest absurdities. The Gemara is stuffed with 
dreams and chimeras, with many ignorant and impertinent questions, and the style very coarse. The 
Mishna is written in a style comparatively pure, and may be very useful in explaining passages of the 
New Testament, where the phraseology is similar. This is indeed the only use to which Christians 
can apply it ; but this renders it valuable. Lightfoot has judiciously availed himself of such informa- 
tion as he could obtain from it. Some of the Popes, with a barbarous zeal, and a timidity of spirit for 
the success of the Christian religion which the belief of its divinity can never excuse, ordered great 
numbers of the Talmud to be burned. Gregory IX. burned about twenty cart loads, and Paul IV. 
ordered twelve thousand copies of the Talmud to be destroyed. 

The last edition of the Talmud of Babylon, printed at Amsterdam, is in 12 vols, folio. The Talmud 
of Jerusalem is in one large folio. 



140 



APPENDIX. 



ON THE DIFFERENT MONARCHIES, AS FORESHOWN TO NEBUCHADNEZZAR 
IN A DREAM, AND EXPOUNDED TO HIM BY THE PROPHET DANIEL.— Dan. 
Chap. h. 

Monarchy, derived from the Greek " /uovap^rjc," " one who governs alone ;" formed of povoQ 
solus, and upxn, imperium, " government." Of the three forms of government, viz. democracy, 
aristocracy, and monarchy, the last is the most powerful, all the sinews of government being knit 
together, and united in the hand of the prince ; but then there is imminent danger of his employing 
that strength to improvident or oppressive purposes. As a democracy is the best calculated to direct 
the end of a law, and an aristocracy to invent the means by which that end shall be obtained, a 
monarchy is the fittest for carrying those means into execution. 

The most ancient monarchy was that of the Assyrians, which was founded soon after the deluge. 
We usually reckon four grand or universal monarchies; the Assyrian, Ptrsian, Grecian, and Roman; 
though St. Augustine makes but two, viz. those of Babylon and Rome. Belus is placed at the head of 
the Assyrian Kings who reigned at Babylon, and is by profane authors esteemed the founder of it ; and 
by some, the same whom the Scriptures call Nimrod. The principal Assyrian Kings after Belus were 
Ninus, who built Nineveh, and removed the seat of empire to it ; Semiramis, who, disguising her sex, 
took possession of the kingdom instead of her son, and was killed and succeeded by her son Ninyas ; 
and Sardanapalus, the last of the Assyrian monarchs, and more effeminate than a woman. The Head 
of Gold, of the image mentioned in Dan. ii. 1, was the Assyrian or Chaldean monarchy over which 
Nebuchadnezzar then presided : his dominion was vast, and he ruled with most despotic sway ; but all 
his power, greatness, and glory were given, or permitted, by the over-ruling hand of GOD. Though he 
was a king of kings, he was but the minister of' the GOD of Heaven who had given into his hand the 
kingdoms of the world and to whom he was accountable, and of this the highest of the sons of men 
should ever be reminded. This monarchy was to be transmitted to his son Evil-Merodach, and his 
son's son Belshazzar, till the expiration of the seventy years prophesied of by Jeremiah, xxv. 9, 11 ; 
xxvii. 7. After the death of Ninyas the Assyrian empire was split into three separate kingdoms, viz. 
the Median, Assyrian, and Babylonian. The king of the Median kingdom was Arbaces ; and this 
kingdom lasted till the time of Astvages, who was subdued and divested of his kingdom by Cyrus in 
3468 a.m. 

In the time of Cyrus there arose a new and second monarchy called the Persian, which stood upwards 
of 200 years, from Cyrus (whose reign began a.m. 3468) to Darius Codomannus, who was con- 
quered by Alexander, called the Great ; and the empire translated to the Greeks a.m. 3674. This 
kingdom was the breast and arms of silver, and was as inferior to the Assyrian monarchy as silver is 
to gold ; for though, at first, their dominions were as extensive, they quickly declined from the summit 
of grandeur. The 1st monarch was Cyrus, whose father was a Persian, and his mother a Mede, the 
two arms which met in him. 2. Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. 3. Smerdis. 4. Darius, the son of 
Hystapsis, who reigned 521 years before Christ. 5. Xerxes, who reigned 485 years before Christ. 6. 
Artaxerxes Longimanus, who reigned 464 years before Christ. 7. Xerxes the Second. 8. Ochus, or 
Darius, called Nothu?, 424 years before Christ. 9. Artaxerxes Mnemon, 405 years before Christ. 
10. Artaxerxes Ochus, 359 years before Christ. 11. Arses, 338 years "before Christ. 12. Darius 
Codomannus, 336 years before Christ, who was defeated by Alexander, called the Great, and deprived 
of his kingdom and life about 331 years before Christ: the dominion of Persia after his death was 
translated to the Greeks. 

The third monarchy was the Grecian (represented by the belly and thighs of brass) under Alex- 
ander, who, as stated above, subdued Darius Codomannus, and bore rule over all the earth, weeping, 
as it is said, that he had not any more worlds to conquer. As Alexander, when he died, did not declare 
who should succeed him, his dominions were divided, and chiefly possessed by two of his successors, 
whose descendants, the Seleucidse and Lagidse, who reigned in Egypt and Syria, are the thighs of 
brass. At first they governed the provinces that were divided among them under the title of Viceroys ; 
but when the family of Alexander became extinct, they took upon them the name of Kings. Hence in 
process of time the whole empire of Alexander produced four distinct kingdoms, viz. : — 1. The Mace- 
donian, the kings of which, after Alexander, were Antipater, Cassander, Demetrius Poliocertes, Seleucus 



APPENDIX. 



141 



Nicanor, Meleager, Antigonus Doson, Philip, and Perseus, under whom the Macedonian kingdom was 
reduced to the form of a Roman province. 2. The Asiatic kingdom, which at the death of Alexander 
fell to Antigonus. comprehending that country now called Natolia, together with some other regions 
beyond Mount Taurus. From this kingdom proceeded two lesser ones, viz. that of Pergamus, whose 
last King, Attalus, appointed the Roman people to he his heirs : and Pontus, reduced by the Romans 
into the form {jf a province, when they had subdued the last King, Mithridates. 3. The Syrian, of 
whose twenty-two kings the most celebrated were, Seleucus Nicanor, founder of the kingdom ; 
Antiochus Deus, Antiochus the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes, and Tigranes, who was conquered by the 
Romans under Pompey, and Syria was reduced under the form of a Roman province. 4. The Egyp- 
tian, which was formed by the Greeks in Egypt, and flourished near 240 years under twelve 
kings ; the principal of whom were Ptolemy Lagus, its founder ; Ptolemy Philadelphia, founder of the 
Alexandrian Library ; and Queen Cleopatra, who was overcome by Augustus, in consequence of which 
Egypt was added to the dominions of the Romans. 

The fourth monarchy was the Roman (which is represented by the legs of iron, and the feet of iron 
and clay), which lasted 244 years from the building of the city until the time when the royal power 
was abrogated. The Kings of Rome were Romulus, its founder ; Numa Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, 
Ancus Martius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Tarquin the Proud, who was banished, and 
with whom terminated the regal dominion. Strong as iron, their armies brake in pieces the Grecian 
empire, and subdued most of the nations in the then known world ; and the Jewish people especially 
felt the full force of their terrible fury ; but, in process of time, this monarchy declined from its former 
splendour, and became broken and divided into Ten different Kingdoms by the irruptions of the Goths 
and Vandals ; like the feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay, some of these states, which rose out 
of the ruins of the empire, retained much of the strength of the iron, whilst others were weak as miry 
clay ; and though they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, the barbarous nations which 
broke in upon them, or endeavour to cement the divided kingdoms by intermarriages and alliances, yet 
the attempt will be as fruitless as to mix iron and clay together, the jarring interests and ambition of 
the several states preventing their cordial union, and inducing them to weaken and destroy each other. 
If we fix the aera of these Ten Kingdoms to the eighth century, the chief governments will be found to 
be: — 1. The senate of Rome, who revolted from the Grecian emperors, and claimed and exerted the 
privilege of choosing a new western Emperor. 2. The Greeks in Ravenna. 3. The Lombards in 
Lombardy. 4. The Huns in Hungary. 5. The Allemans in Germany. 6. The Franks in France. 
7. The Burgundians in Burgundy. 8. The Saracens in Africa and Spain. 9. The Goths in other 
parts of Spain. 10. The Saxons in Britain. Not that there were constantly ten kingdoms ; there 
were sometimes more, and sometimes fewer ; but, as Sir Isaac Newton observes, whatever was their 
number afterwards, they are still called the ten kings from their first number. There seems, in 
reality, no necessity to make the Medes, Persians, and Greeks, succeed to the whole power of the 
Assyrians, to multiply the number of the monarchies. Thus, the Roman empire was governed, suc- 
cessively, by princes of different nations, yet without any new monarchy being formed thereby. Rome, 
therefore, may be said to have immediately succeeded Babylon in the empire of the world. 

The Stone, hewn out of the mountain, without hands, which brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the 
clay, the silver and the gold, Dan. ii. 34 — 45, prefigured the kingdom of the Divine Messiah, 
not supported by human power, nor promoted by human policy ; but, by the invisible agency of the 
eternal Spirit, established beyond the malice of every enemy, and enduring for ever and ever. The 
GOD of Heaven himself more immediately sets up this kingdom, of which his own Son is the glorious 
head. It arose in the days of those kings who reigned during the last monarchy of the four; Christ 
being born in the reign of Augustus, and as it then began to spread, has continued to increase to this 
day, so shall it be still wider and further extended, till all the opposing powers of the earth are broken, 
rooted up, and destroyed, and every enemy shall bow before it ; a kingdom this, which shall not, as the 
former monaixhies, be transferred from one people to another, but shall enduie not only through the 
years of time, but be coeval with the ages of eternity. 



142 



APPENDIX. 



DISSECTION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS AND THE APOCRYPHA. 



Books 
Chapters 
Verses . 
Words . 
Letters . 



In the Bible. 

39 
929 
23,214 
592,493 



In the Testament. 

27 
260 
1,959 
181,253 



2,728,100 



838,380 



Together. 

66 
1,189 
31 ,173 
113,146 
3,566,480 



In the Apocryph 
14 
173 
»5,078 
125,185 



In the Bible, 



The longest chapter is the 119th Psalm, 176 verses. 
The least chapter is the 117th Psalm, 2 verses. 

The longest verse is the 9th verse of the 8th chapter of Esther, 426 letters. 
The middle verses are the 17th and 18th of the 20th chapter 2nd Chronicles. 
The shortest verse is the 25th verse of the 1st chapter 1st Chronicles, 12 letters. 
The middle line is in the 16th verse of the 4th chapter 2nd Chronicles. 
The middle book is the book of Proverbs. 
The middle chapter is the 29th of Job. 

The word " and " occurs in the Old Testament 35,535 times. 

The word " Jehovah " occurs in the Old Testament 6,855 times. 

The word " children " is mentioned 87 times in the 7th chapter of Nehemiah. 

and 98 times in the 2nd chapter of Ezra. 
The 21st verse of the 7th chapter of Ezra contains all the letters of the alphabet. 
The 19th chapter of the 2nd Kings and the 37th of Isaiah are alike. 
The 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th verses of Psalm 60, and the 7th, 8th, 

9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th of Psalm 108, are alike. 
The words " Lord " and " God " are not found in the 10 chapters of Esther. 



In the New Testament, 

The longest chapter is the 1st of St. Luke, 80 verses. 

The least chapter is the 15th of Revelation. 

The longest verse is the 4th of the 20th Revelation, 284 letters. 

The middle verse is the 17th of the 17th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. 

The shortest verse is the 35th of the 11th chapter of St. John, 9 letters. 

The middle books are the 2nd Thessalonians and 1st of Timothy. 

The middle chapters are the 13th and 14th Romans. 

The 3rd Epistle of John has neither " Lord " nor " Jesus Christ" in it. 

The word " and " occurs, in the New Testament, 10,684 times. 



In the Apocrypha, 

The longest chapter is the 8th of 1st Esdras, 96 verses. 
The least chapters are 9th Tobit, and 12th Esther, 6 verses each. 
The middle chapters are the 6th and 7th of Ecclesiasticus. 
The longest verse is the 22nd of the 10th chapter 2nd Esdras, 416 letters. 
The middle verse is the 13th of the 15th chapter of Ecclesiasticus. 
The shortest verse is the 48th of the 14th chapter 2nd Esdras, 9 letters. 
The word " sons " occurs, in the 5th chapter 1st Esdras, 109 times. 
The words " bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all, for ever," occur 32 
times in the Song of the Three Children. 



APPENDIX. 



143 



TARGUMISTS, 

Those who wrote the Targum, which is a name given to the Chaldee paraphrases of the books of the 
Old Testament. They are called paraphrases or expositions, because they are rather comments and 
explications than literal translations of the text. They are wriiten in the Chaldee tongue, which became 
familiar to the Jews after the time of their captivity in Babylon, and was better known to them than 
even the Hebrew itself. So that when the Hebrew text was read in the synagogue, or in the temple, 
they generally added to it an explication in the Chaldee tongue for the service of the people, who had 
but a very imperfect knowledge of the Hebrew tongue. It is probable, that even from the time of Ezra 
this custom began, since this learned scribe, reading the law to the people in the temple, explained it, 
with the other priests that were with him, to make it understood by the people. (Nehe. viii. 7 — 9.) 

But though the custom of making these sorts of expositions in the Chaldee language be very ancient 
among tbe Hebrews, yet they have no written paraphrases or Targums before the era of Onkelos and 
Jonathan, who lived about the time of our Saviour. Jonathan is placed about thirty years before Christ, 
under the reign of Herod the Great. Onkelos is something more modern. The Targum of Onkelos is 
the most of all esteemed, and copies are to be found in which it is inserted verse for verse with the 
Hebrew. It is so short and so simple, that it cannot be suspected of being corrupted. This paraphrast 
wrote only upon the books of Moses ; and his style approaches nearly to the purity of the Chaldee, as it 
is found in Daniel and Ezra. This Targum is quoted in the Misna, but was not known either to Eusebius, 
St. Jerome, or Origen. * 

The Targum of Jonathan, son of Uziel, is upon the greater and lesser prophets. He is much more 
diffuse than Onkelos, and especially upon the lesser prophets, where he takes great liberties, and runs 
on in allegories. His style is sufficiently pure, and approaches pretty near to the Chaldee of Onkelos. 
It is thought that the Jewish doctors who lived above 700 years after him made some additions 
to him. 

The Targum of Joseph the Blind is upon the Hagiographia. This author is much more modern, and 
less esteemed, than those we have now mentioned. He has written upon the Psalms, Job, the Proverbs, 
the Canticles, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, and Esther. His style is a very corrupt Chaldee, with a great mixture 
of words from foreign languages. 

The Targum of Jerusalem is only upon the Pentateuch : nor is that entire or perfect. There are whole 
verses wanting, others transposed, others mutilated ; which has made many of opinion that this is only a 
fragment of some ancient paraphrase that is now lost. There is no Targum upon Daniel, nor upon the 
books of Ezra and Nehemiah. 

These Targums are of great use for the better understanding not only of the Old Testament, on which 
they are written, but also of the New. As to the Old Testament, they serve *o vindicate the genuineness 
of the present Hebrew text, by proving it to be the same that was in use when these Targums were 
written, contrary to the opinion of those who think the Jews corrupted it after our Saviour's time. 
They help to explain many words and phrases in the Hebrew original, and they hand down to us many 
of the ancient customs of the Jews. And some of them, with the phraseologies, idioms, and peculiar 
forms of speech which we find in them, do in many instances help as much for the better illustration 
and better understanding of the New Testament as of the Old ; the Jerusalem Chaldee dialect, in which 
they were written, being the vulgar language of the Jews in our Saviour's time. They also very much 
serve the Christian cause against the Jews, by interpreting many of the prophecies concerning the Mes- 
siah in the Old Testament in the same manner as the Christians do. Many instances are produced to 
this purpose by Dr. Prideaux in his Connection of the Hist, of the Old and New Test., vol. iv. 
p. 777, &c. 

These Targums are published to the best advantage in the second edition of the great Hebrew Bible 
set forth at Basil, by Buxtorf, the father, anno 1610 ; for he has rectified the Chaldee text, and reformed 
the vowel pointings in it : the Targums having at first been written without vowel points, which were 
afterwards added very erroneously by some Jews. 



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